Quantico
by FloatYourBoat21
Summary: Santana Lopez is a highly trained profiler, assigned to the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI. As she works in perfect harmony with the other members of her team to catch the most dangerous serial killers in the US, she also struggles with her deeper feelings for Communications Liaison Brittany Pierce. Can she keep herself in check? AU Brittana/Criminal Minds-style story.
1. Secrets Don't Make Friends

**Quantico**

* * *

_Helen Keller once said, "The only thing worse than being blind is having sight, but no vision."_

* * *

"Lopez... Pierce... in my office, _NOW!_" Assistant Director Sylvester yells down to the two agents currently enjoying their morning coffee with the rest of their team in the bullpen.

As the blonde and the brunette shoot questioning glances at each other, the rest of the team whispers amongst themselves, trying to decipher the rare appearance of their boss. Both women then slowly make their way upstairs towards the director's office. Once they finally arrive, the Latina agent steps aside to allow the Communications Liaison to enter first.

"Ladies..." Director Sylvester greets.

"Ma'am..." both women reply.

"I'm sure you're wondering why I've asked you both here," the older blonde begins. Both women slightly nod their heads, waiting for their boss to continue. "It has recently come to my attention that there may be something going on between the two of you… Care to explain?"

"I'm not sure what you're referring to, ma'am," Agent Santana Lopez states confusedly. Agent Brittany Pierce just shakes her head, feeling just as lost in this conversation.

"I've been hearing a lot of chatter about how _close_ the two of you are," the director continues. "I can't say that I haven't noticed your close interactions as well. You both know that we have a very strict policy on fraternization."

"Ma'am, if I may..." the blonde states, asking for permission to continue. She receives a slight head nod from their boss. "I'm not sure what exactly it is that you've heard, but I assure you that _nothing_ is going on between us. I'm very close to everyone on our team, but I will say that I am closest to Santana... I mean, Agent Lopez."

"Is this the case, Agent Lopez?" Director Sylvester asks the Latina, watching her carefully with her eyes.

"Yes ma'am... Agent Pierce and I are _just_ friends," Santana clarifies, sounding slightly dejected to anyone who was really paying attention. "Best friends, actually..."

Director Sylvester takes a moment to study the faces of both women standing before her. After watching them intently, she finally says, "Okay... you can go."

The brunette and the blonde once again exchange confused looks. "That's it?" Santana cautiously asks.

"Yeah, no third degree or anything?" Brittany adds on.

"No," the older woman simply states. "You're two of my best agents in the BAU... I have no reason to believe you're being untruthful."

"Thank you, ma'am," both agents say in unison before quickly exiting the director's office.

As the two agents get further away from their director's office, they both breathe a sigh of relief.

"Whoa... that was intense," Brittany exclaims.

"I know right!" Santana responds back. "I mean, I know sometimes we're a little touchy feely, but no more than Puckerman and Fabray are."

"Those two are the worst!" Brittany playfully states. "All of their sexual innuendos... _gross!_"

"I'm surprised we haven't had to attend a sexual harassment workshop with all of the weird sexual tension they exude," Santana adds in.

"I mean, _seriously_... what would make anyone think that someone like you would remotely be interested in someone like me?" Brittany wonders out loud.

Santana looks a bit hurt by the blonde's off-handed comment. She knows that Brittany probably didn't mean anything bad by it, but still... hearing those actual words wasn't appealing. Perhaps because the Latina had a crush on the blonde... a _secret_ crush, that is.

"Someone like _me?_" The profiler finally questions, halting her movements. Once the blonde doesn't feel the presence of her counterpart beside her, she stops as well.

"Well, yeah..." Brittany begins to say as she walks back towards Santana's stationary position. "I've seen the countless number of women that throw themselves at you and the tons of men that only end up disappointed once they realize that you have _zero_ interest in them," she explains. "You're gorgeous, Santana. You're like a succulent filet mignon, while I on the other hand… I'm like spam that's still in the can."

Santana can't help the giggle that escapes from her lips that she was trying so hard to hold back. She also feels her heart flutter a little from the blonde's compliment.

"Hey!" Brittany says, slapping the Latina's arm whilst giggling to herself.

"C'mon... _spam?!_ How can you expect me _not_ to laugh," Santana replies incredulously. "You're far from some disguising canned meat, Britt; if anyone's a filet... it's _you_."

Brittany opens her mouth to interject, but doesn't get a chance to.

"I guess we should get to work," Santana says, quickly hoping to change the subject. "I've got a lot of reports to catch up on."

"Yeah... same here," the blonde replies, letting her co-worker's compliment hang in the air.

Santana then walks Brittany to her office before throwing her a 'see ya later' as she turned around to make her way to her desk downstairs in the bullpen.

"So... what was that all about?" Santana's partner Noah Puckerman asks.

"Sylvester asked us if we were 'involved'," Santana answers. "Apparently they have been some rumors going around."

"No shit..." Puckerman responds. "I'm surprised she hasn't dragged me and Quinn in there."

"That's what I said!" Santana exclaims. Both agents share a laugh. "Anyways, we told her that we were just friends and that was it."

"Are you _okay?_" Puckerman softly asks, knowing about his partner's 'secret' crush on the communications liaison.

"Yeah... I'm good," the Latina says as convincingly as possible. She was good at compartmentalizing... a great skill to possess in her line of work. "It's not like I was ever gonna act on it. Let's just get to work, okay?" Santana silently pleads.

"Yeah... okay," Puckerman concedes.

* * *

Several hours and a dozen of finished reports later, the profiling duo receives an unscheduled visit from their very vibrant co-worker.

"Hello, my Jewish Adonis!" Tech Analyst Quinn Fabray says to Puckerman.

"What's up, Baby Girl?" The male smugly replies back.

"Oh, nothing... just needed to escape my cave," Fabray flirtatiously says back. "_Santana_... can I just say that red is _definitely_ a good color on you," she finishes with a wink.

"Ya know, Quinn... if you keep checking out the menu, _eventually_ your gonna have to order something," the Latina playfully flirts back with a wink of her own.

"_Whoa_... am I interrupting something here?" Brittany's voice appears out of nowhere.

"Oh, hey Britt... I didn't see ya there," Santana nervously chuckles out.

"Damn, B... it was just getting good over here," Puckmerman whines.

"Aww... poor baby," Fabray teases him. "Don't you worry... after work, we'll go find you a fine piece of ass to take home."

"See... this is why I love you!" The Jewish man says as he gives Fabray a quick peck on the cheek. "Who else is in?"

"Watching Puck get shot down by lots of women... yeah, that sounds like fun," Santana cattily replies.

"Watch it,_ Lopez_..." Puckerman warns. "I bet I'll get more numbers than you do."

"Oh, _Puckerman_... that's because you try entirely too hard," Santana retorts. "All I have to do is sit at the bar and ladies practically throw themselves at me," she states as she flutters her eyelashes at her partner.

Although Santana knew that she was fairly attractive - _and that her previous comment wasn't far from the truth_ - she was more of a one-woman kind of girl. Sure, she could go home with a different chick every night like her partner sometimes did, but that wasn't her style. However, she knew how much her co-workers enjoyed her playful banter with the resident Casanova of the group. Plus, she appreciated Puck making a point to help her feel a little better about herself, given their present company.

"What's this about going out tonight?" Finn Hudson, the senior profiler of their group chimes in.

"Hudson, my man!" Puck says as he hi-fives the older man. "He's in... who else?"

"Well, that depends..." Dr. Artie Abrams, the youngest member of their group, quietly states in the background. "You guys aren't gonna be out super late, are you?"

"Don't worry, Boy Wonder... we'll get you home at a decent hour," Puckerman says as he puts the genius in a playful headlock. "You think Schue will come?"

"I'll ask him, but probably not," Hudson answers. "What about you, Blondie?"

"Uh, yeah... sure," Brittany hesitates. "I'll come out for a little bit. I guess I should head back up and finish my paperwork then," she says, using a similar excuse that the Latina did earlier.

"Then it's settled!" Puck exclaims.

* * *

Less than an hour later, the team is putting the finishing touches on their reports and packing up to enjoy their weekend. As the rest of the gang head towards the elevator, Santana pops her head into Brittany's office to check on her progress.

"Are you ready to go?" The profiler asks.

"Just about," the blonde replies. "You don't have to wait for me though... I'll just meet you guys there."

"Are you sure? I don't mind waiting," Santana insists.

"Yeah... I _definitely_ wouldn't want you to keep the ladies waiting," Brittany says playfully with a smile that doesn't quite meet her eyes.

"_Okay_... I guess I'll see ya whenever you get there," Santana solemnly replies.

Just as Santana turns around and takes a few steps away from the liaison's door, she stops herself. There had been something plaguing on her mind all day since the impromptu meeting with Sylvester earlier.

Once the Latina finally makes up her mind, she turns around and positions herself in the doorway of Brittany's office.

"Hey, Britt..." she says, gaining the blonde's attention.

"Yeah, San?"

The profiler loses her train of thought momentarily, enjoying the nickname that she only allowed the blue-eyed woman to use.

"You are the most beautiful and intriguing woman that I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. But you're so much more than just another pretty face," Santana starts out, trying to find the courage to finish. "You're smart and funny and kind and loyal… you have an amazing personality and you're an incredible friend," she continues. "I could only be so lucky to be able to call someone like you my girlfriend. But... I'm not foolish enough to believe that _that_ would ever happen."

Santana pauses, unsure if she should go on. Brittany hasn't said anything and her facial expression has remained pretty stoic throughout the Latina's rambling.

"If it wasn't for these damn rules - _or the fact that you were straight and not interested in me like that_ - then maybe I would make a move cuz _I_ am _very_ interested in _you_," the profiler confesses. "However, I would never do anything to make you feel uncomfortable or possibly jeopardize our friendship or our jobs. I just thought you deserved to know..."

And with one final look at Brittany, Santana quickly turns on her heel and hauls ass towards the elevator before the blonde can respond. As the brunette mentally curses herself for saying anything in the first place, Brittany continues to sit at her desk with her jaw hanging in mid-air.

Needless to say... the communications liaison was definitely not expecting that.

* * *

"Lopez! Why the hell are you over here drinkin' by yourself?" Puck wonders as he takes the vacant seat next to her. "Even Artie is out there on the dance floor."

_It was true..._

Ever since Santana had arrived at the club nearly 30 minutes ago, she had been pretty anti-social. It's not that she didn't want to enjoy a fun and usually rare evening out with her friends away from the workplace; she just couldn't stop thinking about her last interaction with Brittany.

"Another please," the Latina ignores her partner's question in favor of getting the bartender's attention. Once he sets down another shot of vodka, the profiler wastes no time throwing it back and then chasing it with the rest of her beer.

"Whoa... slow down there, Princess," Noah says concerned. He knew that his partner was no lightweight, but clearly something was off. "What's going on?"

"Ya know... I'm fluent in 5 different languages, but I'm actually fucking retarded," Santana mumbles out.

"Yeah... I'm gonna need a little more than that," her partner replies, hoping that he doesn't have to pull out her hair just to get her to open up.

"I told her... _sort of_," the Latina says very vaguely.

"You told who what?" Noah inquires.

"_Her_..." Santana simply states, nodding her head towards the end of the bar.

Once Puck follows her line of sight, he notices the two blondes laughing animatedly about something. For a brief moment, he catches Brittany's eye until she immediately looks away and dives back into her conversation with Quinn.

As Noah slowly turns his head back towards his partner, it finally clicks. "You told Brittany you like her?" He asks for clarification.

"In so many words..." the Latina replies.

"Okay... what were the _exact_ words?" Noah asks more directly.

"I basically told her that she was fucking beautiful, that I was interested in her, and that I would be honored to call her my girlfriend," Santana quickly spits out. Once she sees Puck's eyes double in size from her admission, she adds in, "but I know that she's straight and my feelings aren't something I would ever act on... for obvious reasons."

"Well... fuck me running! You've got some balls, Lopez!" Puck says proudly. "So, what did she say?"

"She didn't say anything, probably cuz I didn't give her a chance to," Santana responds. Once she sees the confused look on her partner's face, she continues. "After I said all of that stuff, I basically hauled ass out of there and ordered my first drink as soon as I got here."

"That's understandable," Puck agrees. "So... are you gonna talk to her?"

"And say what exactly?" Santana questions. "I can't tell her I didn't mean it; she may not be a profiler, but she knows when I'm lying."

"True, but you're gonna have to talk about it at some point."

"I know, I just don't want things to get awkward between us just cuz I couldn't keep my big mouth shut," the profiler chastises herself. "What about the next time we go away for a case... there's no way she's gonna want to share a room with me after knowing I have feelings for her. I just ruined everything!"

"Hey, c'mere..." Noah says sympathetically as he brings his partner into his side. "Everything's gonna be alright. Brittany is your best friend and you know she isn't like that. Everything will go back to normal once you guys finally clear the air."

"I hope so..." Santana says a little less frantic than her previous rant. "You're a really good friend, Noah... _y'know_, when you're not trying to get into some chicks' pants."

Puck looks slightly offended until he hears a light chuckle emitting from the Latina. "You're an ass... I'm trying to be sentimental here," the man replies as he playfully pushes his partner off of him. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better."

As Santana and Noah exchanged light conversation, they fail to notice the intense stare coming from the communications liaison at the other end of the bar. Brittany had been watching the close interaction between the two profilers and knew nothing romantic was going on between them; however, something about seeing the resident Casanova comforting _her_ best friend - _especially after the Latina's confession that took place barely an hour ago_ - didn't sit well with her.

"Brittany! Are you even listening to me?" The tech analyst says slightly frustrated, seeing that she had been trying to get the blonde's attention for the past minute.

"What? Oh sorry... what were you saying, Quinn?"

"What has got you so distracted?" The other blonde asks rather intrigued.

"Nothing... it must be the alcohol," Brittany replies, not so convincingly.

"_Puh-lease_... we both know there's no alcohol in that drink," Fabray says knowingly. "What's going on, Sugar Plum?"

Instead of responding to her friend, Brittany looks down and takes another sip of her virgin margarita. Sensing her unwillingness to open up, Quinn looks down the bar for answers and that's when she spots the two profilers.

"_Hmm_... this wouldn't have anything to do with the smokin' hot Latina sitting at the bar, would it?" Fabray says suggestively.

Quinn had long suspected a physical attraction between the blonde and the brunette, but never had she commented on it before... at least not to either of them. Her and Noah often have private discussions about what a great couple the profiler and liaison would make, but neither of them would dare bring it up to either party. Quinn knew about Santana's feelings for the blue-eyed woman because _of course_, she's all-knowing; however, she didn't know for sure if those feelings were reciprocated... she just had a very strong hunch.

Before the tech analyst could question Brittany any further or comment on how red her friend's face had become, she felt a vibration coming from her purse. As she retrieved her phone from her bag, she notices Brittany grabbing her phone from her pocket.

"Aww shucks, saved by the mass text, Blondie..." Quinn playfully comments as she makes her way towards the group. Brittany follows suit.

"Looks like the fun is over... we've got a case," Puckerman addresses the group as he re-reads the mass text from their unit chief.

"Okay, who's driving... cuz I know I can't," Hudson slightly slurs out.

"Yeah... even if I wasn't a profiler, I think we all could've figured that one out," Santana chuckles out. The rest of the team joins in, but once the Latina sees her best friend trying extremely hard to avoid eye contact with her, her smile fades. "Noah's only had 1 beer, so Finn... you can ride with us."

"I haven't had anything to drink so the girls can ride with me," the boy genius says. Santana releases a deep breath that she didn't know she had been holding.

"Alright, let's close our tabs and get some coffee before going in," Noah says, taking charge of the group.

"This is going to be a long case..." Santana mumbles out, realizing that in the very near future, she would be in very close quarters with the blonde.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Hey guys! Here's another story for you, set in the Criminal Minds world. I'm not sure how long this story will actually be, but I'm only planning on a few chapters. For those of you not or somewhat familiar with the show, here's a list of characters that our resident Glee cast is portraying: Santana as Prentiss, Brittany as JJ, Puck as Morgan, Quinn as Garcia, Artie as Reid, Finn as Rossi, Mr. Schue as Hotch, and Sue as Strauss. Anyways, hope you all enjoy and look out for more updates on **3****rd**** & Lucky** and other stories.

**-Kris**

_PS – If there's anyone who has any ideas or interest in creating covers for any of my stories, I would greatly appreciate it. You can contact me on here or on Twitter (__**justkris21**__). I look forward to seeing your awesome artwork!_

**Disclaimer:** I do **NOT** own Glee, Fox, Criminal Minds, CBS, or any of the characters. All mistakes are my own.


	2. Maybe I'm Crazy

_Einstein defined insanity as, "Doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results."_

* * *

The ride back to headquarters was quite unsettling for both Brittany and Santana. While the Latina was working on sobering up before she saw the team's fearless leader, the blonde was lost in thought thinking about everything the profiler had said to her throughout the day.

Once arriving at the FBI field office, each member of the team silently made their way into the conference room where their Unit Chief William Schuester was awaiting. Santana uncharacteristically takes a seat in between Puck and Abrams. Brittany immediately notices, but doesn't take offense, seeing that she felt it was too soon to be in such close quarters with the profiler.

"Hey guys... sorry to pull everyone away from their weekend so soon," he genuinely states. "There's been a rash of homicides in New York."

As Schue begins to pass out a copy of the case file to each member of the team, Fabray queues up the projection screen, displaying the faces of three unknown females.

"Rachel Berry, Tina Cohen-Chang, and Mercedes Jones were all brutally murdered within the past few months," Quinn states. "It appears all of these women were already dead before being placed on fire."

"_Oh my God!_" Brittany exclaims as photographs of the various crime scenes are displayed on the screen, including the ones of their burnt corpses. No matter how many psychopaths the team catches, seeing the capability of what some people are willing to do to others never got easier for the blonde. Santana catches Brittany's eye and gives her a sympathetic smile.

"Obviously these women have been linked together by the way they were killed, but what connects them?" Hudson questions.

"They all appear to be in their mid-late 20s, but they're all different races and body types," Puckerman adds in. "What do they do for a living?"

"Both Ms. Berry and Ms. Cohen-Chang were actors, mainly Broadway productions, while Ms. Jones was an up and coming musician," Schue states.

"The autopsy report shows that Ms. Berry was the only one to suffer blunt force trauma," Santana says. "She also appeared to be the only one of the three that was strangled and had her vocal chords ripped out. Seems like the UnSub had a lot of aggression towards her."

"Yes... that's probably why Ms. Berry was the first victim," Schue begins to say. "The police believe that her murder was possibly an accident that turned into a crime of passion. With the other two vics, the UnSub shows much more restraint and control."

"Out of the three of them, Ms. Jones looks like she suffered the least," Brittany chimes in, commenting on the photos that show burn marks on only 50% of her body.

"From the looks of it, the UnSub was interrupted and didn't get to see his final masterpiece," Abrams states. "Based on the initial report, Ms. Jones' fiancé found her body only a couple of hours ago."

"What was the cause of death in each case?" Hudson ponders.

"Based on the petechial hemorrhaging, Ms. Berry died from manual strangulation. Her vocal chords were cut out postmortem," Schue clarifies. "Ms. Cohen-Chang suffered a deep laceration to her carotid artery, causing her to bleed out; the knife was still in her throat when her body was found," he continues. "As far as Ms. Jones... we'll have to wait for the preliminary exam to determine her COD."

"How were they able to link Ms. Jones to the other vics then?" Puck questions. "The other two were involved in Broadway so how does she fit in?"

"Maybe the fire has significance to the UnSub," Abrams suggests. "As far as we know right now, all of the vics were dead or at least incapacitated in some way before being set on fire. The M.E. found traces of GHB in Ms. Cohen-Chang's system."

"For Ms. Jones' sake, hopefully she was already dead..." Santana adds in. "I can't imagine still being alive and feeling your flesh burning and not being able to do anything about it."

As Santana looks down at the table with a mix of disgust, hurt, and anger, Brittany briefly stares at her. It's not often that the Latina lets her walls down and comments about how sick some people are. But... just as quickly as one brick comes down from her wall, it quickly gets replaced by a new one once Santana looks up and catches the blonde looking at her.

"I agree, that's why they need us on the ground ASAP before the UnSub strikes again," Schue reiterates. "Puckerman... you and Lopez will go to the latest crime scene and speak to Ms. Jones' fiancé; Hudson and Abrams... you'll go to the Eugene O'Neill theatre and re-interview the co-workers of the second victim," he continues. "Brittany and I will be at the precinct setting up the command post and going over all of the evidence. Wheels up in 30."

* * *

After a short flight, each team arrives at their respective locations.

Once Puck and Santana arrive at the latest crime scene, they speak with the officers on scene to get caught up.

"Detective Hollis," one of the men say as they shake both agents' hands. "Thank you guys for coming on such short notice."

"That's no problem at all; we're happy to help," Puck states sincerely. "This is Agent Lopez and I'm Agent Puckerman. What've we got?"

As Detective Hollis advises the FBI agents on everything they've gathered so far, Santana observes a distraught male sitting at the end of the hallway with his head buried in his hands. Once Det. Hollis informs them that the male is Ms. Jones' fiancé, the Latina makes her way to his location.

"Mr. Evans?" Santana says softly, not wanting to startle the broken man. "My name is Santana Lopez and I'm with the FBI. Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?"

"Sam... you can call me Sam," the blonde-haired man says as he wipes away the residual tears from his face.

"Ok then, _Sam_... can you tell me what happened?" Santana asks.

"I was coming over to surprise Mercedes..." Sam begins. "When I got here, I noticed that there was smoke coming out from under the door. I tried to open it, but the handle was too hot."

Sam then proceeds to tell Santana how he managed to break the door down and found Mercedes' body in the living room. By the time he reached her, her face and chest were severely burnt. Sam was able to locate the fire extinguisher and put out the fire before it spread more into the apartment.

"That was very brave and also _incredibly_ stupid of you Sam... you could've easily hurt yourself," Santana seriously states.

"I guess I wasn't really thinking. All I knew is that I had to find her, but I was too late..." Sam says as he begins to sob again. "I wasn't being brave... people do stupid things when they're in love."

Santana lays a comforting hand on the blonde man's shoulder and gives him a sympathetic smile.

"Earlier you said that you were coming over to surprise Mercedes... what was the occasion, if you don't mind me asking," the Latina ponders.

"I've been in London on a photo shoot for the past few days... I'm a model," he explains. "Anyways, I wasn't supposed to be back till Monday, but I couldn't wait to see Mercedes so I took the red-eye."

"That was really sweet of you," Santana comments. "Well... I think that's all of the questions we have for right now. I'm _so_ sorry for your loss."

As Santana turns around to make her way back towards her partner, the blonde gains her attention again.

"Agent Lopez... you're gonna find whoever did this, right?" Sam hopefully asks as his eyes begin to water again.

"I'm gonna do everything in my power to catch this sick son of a bitch," Santana sincerely replies before walking away from the shattered man.

* * *

Once the rest of the team arrives at the police station, they confer with each other to sort through any new information they may have ascertained.

"Everyone... this is Lieutenant Beiste," Schue states, introducing the woman standing to his left. "Lt. Beiste... this is SSA Hudson, SSA Puckerman, SSA Lopez, and Dr. Abrams."

"It's nice to meet you guys," Lt. Beiste says as she shakes each person's hand. "I was just telling Agent Schue and Agent Pierce how grateful we are that you guys could come on such short notice."

"Alright... let's see what my team found out in the field."

"We re-interviewed all of Ms. Cohen-Chang's co-workers from the show," Hudson begins. "Besides that, none of them really had anything new to add and no one was familiar with the Jones subject. However, we did establish a connection with Ms. Berry."

"Yeah... apparently Ms. Cohen-Chang was the understudy for Ms. Berry in _Spring Awakening_ last year. When Ms. Berry opted not to reprise her role this year, Ms. Cohen-Chang was the first in line to replace her," Dr. Abrams adds in. "Everyone was very familiar with Ms. Berry and some of them even got to work with her in the past. They raved about her talent, but most of them said that Ms. Berry could be a 'pain in the ass' to work with," he continues.

"That might explain why Berry was the first vic," Puck contemplates. "Maybe she pissed off the wrong person and they didn't take too kindly to that..."

"And maybe Tina did the same thing and ultimately met the same fate," Santana states.

"What's even more interesting is that not even two weeks after Ms. Cohen-Chang's death, the male lead of the musical had to drop out due to injury," Abrams adds in.

"What kind of injury?" Schue questions.

"A broken ankle," Hudson responds. "Apparently he got jumped when leaving a bar."

"That sounds a little too coincidental, especially right after the female lead has to be replaced unexpectantly," Santana chimes in.

"I agree," Brittany states, shooting the Latina a small smile. "Who replaced Tina anyways?"

"Some girl named Marley Rose," Agent Hudson replies. "Apparently she's an up and comer too."

"Okay... so what are you guys thinking?" Lt. Beiste asks.

"The UnSub is someone whom is very familiar with the Broadway scene," Puck starts off. "More than likely they knew the victims well, which would explain why there were no signs of forced entry at any of the crime scenes."

"Ms. Jones' fiancé advised that she didn't personally know Ms. Berry or Ms. Cohen-Chang, so we're still missing a connection there," Santana says.

"Let's get Fabray on the horn and see if she's had any luck," Schue states.

Puck then hits the speed dial on his phone and waits for the other line to pick up. "Fabray... you're on speaker phone."

"This is the Goddess of All Knowledge... speak and be spoken to," Quinn replies with her eccentric sense of humor.

"Fabray... have you been able to find a connection to all three vics yet?" Schue questions.

"No sir... I've checked where each of the victims grew up, went to school, and their previous employment, but I can't seem to find a connection with Ms. Jones to the other two women," Fabray sadly notes.

"We're sending you a list of Ms. Berry and Ms. Cohen-Chang's former co-workers... maybe one of them had an axe to grind," Schue states.

"I'll run background checks on them ASAP sir," Quinn says. "Fabray out!"

"Alright then... since it's too late to do any further follow-up interviews tonight and we won't know the official COD for Ms. Jones until the morning, let's head to the hotel and get some rest," Schue politely orders. "Because of such short notice, the Bureau was only able to get three rooms for us so we're doubling up. Hudson... you're with me, Puck and Abrams, and of course... Brittany and Lopez."

As Schue lists off the room assignments, both Santana and Brittany have an uneasy feeling overcome them. Once they arrive at the hotel, both women contemplate how to make this situation less awkward.

"I'll just pay for my own room... that way you don't have to worry about sharing one with me," Santana suggests.

"Why would you do that?" Brittany ponders.

"I don't know… I just figured that given everything I told you earlier, you might feel uncomfortable sharing a room with me," the Latina solemnly answers.

"Santana... I don't feel uncomfortable around you," the blonde states.

"_Oh_... I guess I just figured as much since you haven't really spoken to me since we left work earlier," Santana reminds.

"Don't get me wrong... I have been avoiding you," Brittany casually states. Once she sees the hurt look on the profiler's face, she realizes how her statement might've been taken. "But, it's not because I'm uncomfortable. I guess I just needed some time to process everything, y'know? I mean... it's not every day that your best friend tells you that they're interested in you."

"I guess that makes sense..." Santana acknowledges. "So... we're okay?"

"Always," Brittany sincerely says as she brings the Latina into a side hug. Almost immediately, all of the tension leaves Santana's body.

Once everyone makes it to the hotel and checks in, the team says their goodnights to each other and head up to their rooms.

"Hey… were you planning on taking a shower tonight or in the morning?" Santana wonders.

"I'll probably just wait until the morning," the liaison replies.

"Okay... I'll go ahead and take mine now, that way it won't take as long for us to get ready in the morning."

As Santana gathers her sleep clothes, she heads towards the bathroom. Before she has the chance to shut the door, Brittany's voice stops her.

"San?"

"Yeah Britt..." the Latina replies as she turns around to give the blonde her full attention.

"I just wanted to say thank you..." Brittany begins.

"For what?" Santana questions.

"For having the courage to actually tell me all that stuff… I know it couldn't have been easy," the blonde elaborates.

"Yeah... it's no big deal," the brunette nonchalantly replies.

"But it is..." Brittany interjects. "You're an amazing woman Santana and I appreciate you so much. You are so special to me."

"Brittany... _please_," the Latina begs. "Hearing you say all those amazing things isn't really helping with the whole 'me having feelings for you' thing."

"I know... I'm sorry," the blonde apologizes. "I'm just so flattered that anybody - _especially you_ - would think so highly of me."

Santana lets out an exasperated sigh before looking deep into the blonde's cerulean eyes. "I wish that you saw yourself the way I see you every single day. Goodnight Brittany."

And with that, Santana enters the bathroom and shuts the door behind her, leaving a confused Brittany alone to her own devices. Once Santana finishes her very long shower, she finds the blonde passed out on her bed.

* * *

The next morning, Santana wakes up and finds that her blonde counterpart is still fast asleep. Seizing the opportunity, the profiler makes her way to the bathroom and begins to get ready for the long day ahead of them.

Once Brittany finally wakes up, her eyes are still blurry from the restless sleep the previous night. Apparently, she found it very difficult to get a peaceful night of sleep with so many thoughts running through her head and a beautiful Latina lying in the bed next to hers.

Without checking her surroundings, Brittany goes towards the bathroom and opens the unlocked door.

"_Son of a bitch_!" Santana yells as she drops the hair straightener from her hands after being surprised by the blonde's sudden appearance.

"_Oh my God_! Santana, I'm so sorry!" Brittany exclaims as she quickly grabs the brunette's right hand and places it under the faucet to allow cold water to run over it. "I didn't know you were in here. I'm so sorry... I didn't even check to see if you were still in bed."

"Relax Pierce... it's probably not even a first degree burn," Santana casually states as she looks at the slight discoloration on her hand.

All of a sudden, the temperature in the tiny room appears to get 100 degrees hotter once Santana takes a minute to dissect her current situation.

Santana had only gotten half way dressed before she started straightening her hair, meaning that at this point in time, she stood clad in her dark blue skinny jeans a black laced bra. What made matters even worse was being in close proximity with blonde she couldn't get out of her head.

Brittany, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to what was going on around her because she was currently having a staring contest with her best friend's boobs.

"_Brittany_..." the Latina says a little breathlessly, "you should probably stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

"_Touching_ me..." Santana whispers out.

Once Brittany is finally able to take her eyes away from the Latina's voluptuous twins, she realizes that she had been subconsciously stroking her thumb over Santana's hand that was under the faucet, unaware of the fire she was stirring inside of the other woman.

"_Oh_, sorry..." Brittany says as she quickly detaches her hand from the profilers. "I didn't realize I was doing that… I guess I'm just used to being close to you."

"It's okay..." Santana assures. "I think my hand is okay now so I'm just gonna go finish getting ready out there."

The Latina quickly grabs her belongings and exits the bathroom, once again leaving the liaison alone with her thoughts. What she didn't know was that as she finished getting dress on the other side of the door, Brittany was feeling just as hot and bothered by their little moment.

"_Holy shit_..." the blonde thinks out loud as she splashes cold water onto her face in an attempt to cool herself off. "I didn't see that coming."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Hello to all of you beautiful people! Here's the next installment, which I hope you enjoyed. Thank you to everyone that has read, reviewed, followed, or added this story to their favorites list! As for 2 of my guest readers whom I can't send a PM to, hopefully this will answer some of the questions/concerns that you brought to my attention.

**Guest #1:** In reference to feeling that Quinn was a miscast for Garcia, I appreciate your feedback but I think you should give it a chance. I think Quinn is a good fit for the role because when she was acting like the HBIC and not the leader of the Celibacy Club, she was very sassy and practiced the whole "all about the teasing, not the pleasing" motto. My goal isn't to try and pass off Quinn as Garcia because that's just impossible, but I wanted her to have a little uniqueness and quirkiness so that fans of Criminal Minds could still relate and feel the essence of Garcia. However, this story is in an alternate universe so all of the characters aren't going to be 100% like they are on Glee. As far as Mercedes goes... I already had other plans for her.

**Guest #2:** In reference to the 'Quick is disgusting" comment... I didn't put a warning in because nothing is going to happen between Quinn and Puck. They are strictly platonic, although they do flirt with each other a lot and their relationship could be deemed as unprofessional (much like Morgan and Garcia). Hope that eases your mind a bit.

Anyways, thanks again for reading everyone!


	3. Not Always As It Seems

"_The probability of a certain set of circumstances coming together in a meaningful (or tragic) way is so low that it simply cannot be considered mere coincidence."_

_– V.C. King_

* * *

As Santana quickly finishes getting ready, she heads down to the lobby of the hotel to clear her head. That moment in the bathroom with Brittany was just way too intense for her to think straight. Opting for some sweet relief from some much needed coffee, Santana walks over to the guest area where the continental breakfast is still being served.

"Sup partner," Puck says as he sidles up next to the Latina.

"Hey," she quickly says, not even bothering to look the man.

"Where's Blondie at?"

"How would I know? I'm not Brittany's keeper..." Santana harshly states.

"_Whoa_... what crawled up your ass?" Puck asks, slightly caught off guard by his partner's short temperament. When he doesn't receive a response, he takes a second to look over his partner's features. "Yo, Santana... what's up? Talk to the Puckasaurus."

Santana immediately stops mixing the creamer into her coffee and just looks at the Jewish man. "I thought we talked about that name."

"You're right... my apologies," Noah states. "Seriously though, what's going on?"

"I'm not sure yet..." Santana says as she finishes making her coffee and an extra one. She then moves over to the omelet station. "I think I had a moment with Brittany."

"What kind of moment?" Puck inquires as the two of them sit down.

"That's the part I'm not sure about," the Latina says. "And I definitely don't want to discuss it right now."

"That's cool... I understand," Puckerman states. "But, if you do feel like talking about it later... I'm here."

"I know... thanks Noah," she sincerely says. "I will say this though... the way she was looking at me made me feel like she was finally seeing _me_, not just her friend or co-worker."

Before Puck has a chance to respond, the blonde in question suddenly appears.

"Hey Noah," the liaison greets the man. "Hey San... you didn't tell me you were leaving."

"Sorry... I figured you were in the shower and I didn't want to disturb you; plus... I had to get my caffeine fix," Santana replies. "I got you these though..." she says as she gestures towards the cup of coffee, bagel, and banana she had collected along with her omelet.

"Thanks, San..." Brittany shyly replies as she takes sip of her coffee. "_Mmm_... just the way I like it."

As Puck observes this cute, but awkward moment between his two friends, he can't help but feel like he's witnessing what should be a private moment.

"Puck, my man..." Hudson says as gives the other man a fist bump.

"_Thank God!_" Noah mumbles out, silently thanking the Heavens for this interruption. "What's up Finn?"

"Morning ladies," Finn says as he addresses the other two people sitting at the table.

"Morning Finn," both women say in unison. "Where are the other guys?" Brittany questions.

"I think Schue is on the phone with Lt. Beiste," Hudson begins, "... and I'm pretty sure Artie is telling the chef the origin of where omelets come from."

"That sounds about right," Puck chuckles out.

After Schue finishes his phone call, he meets up with the rest of the team to go over the game plan for the day.

"Good morning guys," he begins. "I just spoke to Lt. Beiste and she advised that the autopsy report is ready. Lopez and Puckerman, go meet with the M.E. and see what they've found."

"Yes sir," Santana says as she rises from the table.

"Hudson and Abrams... I'd like for you two to make contact with Ms. Berry's last known co-workers and any close friends that may be able to shed some light."

"Actually, sir... if possible, I'd like to follow-up on a possible lead," Dr. Abrams interjects.

"What lead would that be?" Schue questions.

"Well… I was just thinking about how within a short time span, the male and female leads of the same Broadway show had to be replaced due to some unforeseeable event," Dr. Abrams explains. "I'd like to speak with Jake Puckerman - _no relation_ - and see if he could offer any insights."

"Alright... Abrams, go to the precinct and pull the record of the incident that Mr. Puckerman described. Also, check if there have been any similar incidents around the same area," Schue instructs. "If you find something that might be relevant to our case, have Mr. Puckerman come down to the station," he continues. "Brittany... touch bases with Fabray and see if she's found anything that can link our third victim. I'll be in the field with Hudson."

Once everyone is clear on their assignments, they split up and make their way towards their designated SUVs. Brittany steals one last glance at Santana before she and Abrams head in the opposite direction towards the precinct.

"Hey Brittany, are you okay?" Abrams asks, voicing his concern. "You've been really quiet this morning."

"Yeah, I'm fine Artie..." the blonde assures. "I just have a lot on my mind."

"Often I find that when I have an abundance of things on my mind, I like to do a crossword puzzle or find a nice brain teaser to occupy my mind with," Artie suggests. Brittany just stares at him with her mouth agape. "Or not... I was just trying to give you some options."

"Yeah... _thanks?_" the liaison half questions, half states.

* * *

As Santana and Puck arrive at the medical examiner's office, they exchange pleasantries before getting down to business.

"Dr. Chase, can you tell us what the cause of death was?" Agent Puckerman asks.

"Ms. Jones died from asphyxiation caused by smoke inhalation," she replies.

"_Son of a bitch!_" Santana says under her breath. "So... she was alive when her body was set on fire?"

"I'm afraid so," the doctor sadly confirms.

"Is there anything else you can tell us?" Puck inquires.

"Ms. Jones had high levels of ketamine in her system," Dr. Chase states.

"Ketamine... isn't that like a horse tranquilizer or something?" Santana ponders.

"Yes... many veterinarians used it in their practices as an anesthetic," the doctor informs. "On the street, it's known as 'Special K' and has been used as a date rape drug in the past."

"Doc... how would someone go about getting this drug?" Agent Puckerman asks.

"Outside of being a pharmaceutical company that manufactures it or having a prescription for it, the only other option would be to steal it."

"Okay, thanks for your help," Puck says as he heads towards the door. "I'm gonna call Quinn and see if this info helps narrow down our search."

As Puck exits the room, Santana stays behind, just staring blankly at Mercedes' lifeless body.

"Agent Lopez... are you alright?" Dr. Chase asks.

"I've been doing this for 6, maybe 7 years now..." Santana begins to say in a very monotone voice. "Somehow... it never ceases to amazes me how cruel and evil human beings can be to each other."

"I don't know how you do it, like the aftermath… dealing with the families and such," the doctor says. "Does it ever get any easier?"

"Sadly, no... if anything, you just find a way to cope by becoming cynical or completely desensitizing yourself to the point that you don't feel anything at all."

"Hey, Santana... Schue wants us to check out another location," Puck states as he re-enters the room.

"Okay," the Latina simply replies. "Thanks again doc."

* * *

_**Meanwhile, back at the precinct...**_

"Hey Artie... did you find out anything interesting about the mugging?" Brittany ponders.

"Actually, yes..." Abrams begins. "After reviewing the case file, I found that the 'mugging' wasn't actually a 'mugging' at all."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing was actually taken from Jake," the genius further explains. "According to the report, right after Jake left the bar, he was attacked from behind. No witnesses and no other similar incidents in area."

"That's weird..." the liaison says. "If nothing was taken, then that would mean that the attack on Jake was intentional."

"It seems that way," Artie obliges. "I'm gonna have Jake come in for a follow-up."

"Okay, that sounds good," Brittany states. "Quinn still hasn't found a link to the third vic. Hopefully the guys have had better luck in the field."

* * *

After a brief telephone conversation, Jake Puckerman arrives at the police station to meet with Dr. Abrams.

"Thanks for coming by on such short notice," Artie says as both men take a seat in one of the interview rooms. "I hope you don't mind my partner, Agent Pierce, joining us."

"Not at all," he says acknowledging the blonde. "Besides... it's not like I can really do anything else," Jake solemnly says as he gestures towards the cast covering his right ankle. "I'm not really sure how much help I can be though. Like I said before, I worked with Tina only briefly before she died. I only knew Rachel in passing and I didn't know the other girl at all."

"No, I'm clear on that Mr. Puckerman," Artie clarifies. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you more about how you received that broken ankle."

"There's not really much to tell," Jake begins. "Some asshole jumped me from behind and set my career back for who knows how long after I get this stupid cast off."

"At any point during the attack, did the suspect say anything or did they have a distinct smell about them?" Brittany questions.

"No... I just felt the rage that they had," Jake says. "The guy hit me in the back of the head with something hard... like a rock or something. After I fell to the ground, he went straight to my ankle until I yelled out in pain."

"Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt you?" Artie asks.

"I mean... Broadway is very competitive. You barely have time to have a life," Jake sadly says. "I'm sure there are a lot of guys that would love to see me fall, but I can't think of anyone that would have the balls to stoop this low though."

Taking into account what Jake just said and how his facial expression changed slightly while speaking about 'barely having a life', Brittany begins to wonder about some things.

"Has being an up and coming Broadway star ever affected your personal life?" Brittany questions.

Jake silently laughs to himself. "_Yeah_... it has actually," he answers. "You would think dating someone in the biz would make it easier, but I guess some people prefer to have lots of fame and absolutely no life."

"So... your ex is in the biz?"

"Yeah... I believe Dr. Abrams and that other guy met her yesterday," Jake supplies. "_Marley Rose_... she's the star of the show."

"_Interesting_..." Brittany says. "And who replaced you?"

"Ryder Lynn, which is kind of ironic," Jake says in disbelief. As Artie and Brittany both look at him with questioning eyes, he further elaborates. "The kid can sing, but he can't dance for shit. Plus, he's like totally obsessed with Marley."

As the two FBI agents exchange a quick look, Artie dismisses the young dancer.

"Well... I think that's all we need for right now," Dr. Abrams states as he stands from the table. "Thanks again for coming in Mr. Puckerman."

As Jake exits the interview room, the boy genius and the liaison share a thought.

"If this Ryder guy is really 'obsessed' like Jake said, I wonder how far he would go to get the girl he's crazy about," Artie thinks aloud.

"Far enough to cripple said girl's ex-boyfriend/male lead of the play?" Brittany questions. "Or maybe even _kill_ for her? I don't believe in coincidences."

"I'm gonna go update Schue," Dr. Abrams informs as he exits the room.

Brittany remains seated as she pulls out her cell phone and hits a number on her speed dial.

"My blonde beauty... I love you to death, but like I told you nearly an hour ago, I haven't found a connection... _yet_," Fabray says as she answers the phone.

"No, Quinn... I wasn't calling about that," the blonde giggles out. "We might actually have a lead."

"Ooh... now I'm intrigued," Fabray responds. "Hit me."

"Find out everything you can on a Ryder Lynn and a Marley Rose," Brittany supplies.

"Alrighty, will do. I'll give you a shout when I'm done," the tech analyst announces. "Fabray out!"

"Quinn... wait," Brittany says as she gets up to close the door to have more privacy. "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Yeah, of course... what's up?"

"You remember how you were giving me a hard time about Santana before we left for New York?" Brittany asks.

"Yeah... why? Did something happen?" Quinn eagerly inquires.

"A _lot_, actually..."

"_Ooh_... spill!"

"Before we got to the bar, Santana _kinda_ told me that she was _interested_ in me..." Brittany hesitantly states.

"_Kinda_… _interested_… _what?!_" Fabray says in shock. "Are you serious?!"

"Yes... and I've been _kinda_ freakin' out about it ever since," the blonde elaborates. "It just totally caught me off guard, ya know?"

"I can understand that," Quinn sympathizes. "How do you feel about this new revelation?"

"Honestly, I don't really know..." Brittany answers. "I had no idea she felt that way. No one's ever been so upfront and just put themselves out there like that for me."

"_Well_... Santana is definitely one of a kind."

"Yeah, she is…" the blonde agrees. "And well, there was this morning..."

"I'm listening."

"This morning we were in the bathroom and—"

"_Wait_... why were you _both_ in the bathroom?" Quinn questions.

"It's a long story; basically I barged in, unaware that she was already in there... without a shirt on," Brittany explains.

"This story just keeps getting juicier by the minute," the tech analyst suggestively states.

"_Anyways_... I kinda surprised Santana, which inadvertently made her burn herself," the blonde further details. "And... I don't know... I just felt the _need_ to touch her... and not like in a sexual way," she adds in, knowing that her friend's head was probably heading straight towards the gutter.

"What happened next?"

"Well... after I managed to stop staring at her chest - _don't ask_ - Santana abruptly left. I just... I'm so confused Quinn..."

"I know sweetie..." Quinn softly says. "Maybe you just need to talk to Santana."

"I know, but I can't right now..." Brittany replies. "I need to stay focused on this case; so does she."

"You're right. But B... promise me that you will talk to her soon?"

Brittany pauses for a moment. "I promise."

"Good girl," the tech says. "I gotta go. I'll let you guys know once I get something back."

"Okay… thanks Q," Brittany replies as she hangs up the phone and places her head against the cool metal of the table, trying to process the endless thoughts running through her head. "_Maybe I should've just gone into sales like my mom wanted me too_," she thinks to herself.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Hey guys! Here's the next installment. Sorry for the limited Brittana interaction, but this chapter was more of a filler to move the story along. Hopefully the next chapter will make up for it. Thanks again for reading!

-Kris


	4. Walls Falling Down

_"A person is, among all else, a material thing… easily torn and not easily mended." – Ian McEwan_

* * *

As the rest of the team arrives back at the precinct, they exchange what they had learned over the past few hours.

"Abrams, Brittany... what've you got?" Schue asks.

"I spoke to Jake Puckerman again and we might have a person of interest," Artie begins. "What happened to Jake wasn't just a random act of violence. We believe that his understudy for the play had something to do with it."

"Ryder Lynn took Jake's place after he had to drop out due to injury," Brittany picks up. "Artie and I reviewed several tapes of Jake and this Ryder kid in the lead male role. Ryder's performance is mediocre at best compared to Jake's."

"So... Ryder may have crippled Jake to get his role..." Schue states in his usual monotone voice. "What's the connection?"

"Jake's ex-girlfriend, _Marley Rose_, took over the lead female role after Tina was killed," Dr. Abrams supplies. "According to Jake, Ryder is highly obsessed with Marley."

"Hmm... now this is getting interesting," Hudson says.

"We already passed the info along to Fabray," the liaison adds in. "She's running background checks on them now."

"Hudson and I didn't have much luck out in the field," Schue states.

"All of Berry's former co-workers basically all said the same thing; Rachel's life was Broadway and she didn't have any time for anything else," Hudson casually states.

"Lopez, Puckerman... you're up," Schue says.

"We checked out the first two crime scenes. Everything seemed pretty similar to the Jones crime scene..." Puck starts out. "However, we did notice something peculiar."

"The fire at Rachel's apartment was contained to only her bedroom," Santana picks up. "After going through the evidence and the report from the fire department, it appears that Rachel was attacked somewhere else."

"How did you come up with that?" Brittany inquires.

"Using old photos of Rachel's bedroom, there are no signs of any heavy or blunt objects that could've been used to cause the damage done to the back of her head," Puckerman answers. "Also, there were no traces of blood found throughout the other areas of her apartment."

"So there's a secondary crime scene out there," Schue says aloud as he takes in this new information. "So the question is... how did Rachel get back to her apartment before she was set on fire in her own bed?"

"Maybe someone of Ryder Lynn's stature moved her?" Brittany poses.

"The M.E. also told us that Ms. Jones had high levels of ketamine in her system," Puck states.

"Ketamine is a very powerful tranquilizer that's used to sedate horses, along with other animals," Dr. Abrams chimes in. "It's widely used in veterinarian hospitals and has a high value on the streets."

"Thanks for the PBS special," Finn jokingly states towards the boy genius.

"You think this is fucking funny, Hudson?!" Santana yells out as she abruptly rises from her chair. "3 women are dead! And the last one was still conscious, but was completely helpless to do anything as she felt her flesh burning off her bones!"

"Lopez... do you need a minute?" Schue says very sternly.

"Yeah, _Will_... I need a fucking minute," the fiery Latina retorts as she storms out.

As the team sits in silence and total shock, no one knows exactly what to say. Usually Agent Lopez is the definition of professional at all times because she's so great at compartmentalizing her feelings. No one had ever seen her snap like that before, especially not towards one of her own teammates.

"I'll go check on Lopez," Puckerman says as he begins to stand from the table. However, a milky-colored hand wrapped loosely around his wrist stops him.

"Let me..." Brittany pleads. Noah gives her a slight nod as she releases her grip from him.

The liaison then heads towards the back of the precinct where she saw the profiler running off to. Once she exits through the door, it's not hard to spot the only person sitting near the designated smoking area without a cigarette in her hand. There Santana sits on top of a bench, all alone and seemingly lost in thought.

Brittany carefully approaches her. "_Hey_..." she softly says, not wanting to frighten her best friend.

The Latina momentarily breaks away from her trance to acknowledge the blonde. "_Hey_."

"Mind if I sit?"

"Of course not."

"What happened back there, San?" Brittany carefully treads. "I've never seen you like that before. You're usually so stoic and impenetrable."

"I don't know... it's just something about this case," the profiler weakly replies. "Those girls... they're just so young, trying to chase a dream."

"I get that, but we've dealt with cases much worst before," Brittany states as she scoots just a little bit closer to the Latina. "What's different about this one?"

Santana looks down towards the ground below as she nervously fidgets with her fingers. She's a little surprised and taken aback when she feels the warmth of another hand covering hers.

"I saw her body up close; her face was barely recognizable. I could still smell her burnt flesh, even hours after the fire had been put out," the profiler shakily says. Brittany's grip on her hands tightens. "But then, to see the broken look on her fiancé's face..." she pauses as her voice begins to crack. "I couldn't imagine finding the love of my life - _my best friend_ - like that."

As Santana finishes her statement, she finally looks up to see wide blue eyes staring back at her.

"San... you're crying," Brittany says as she turns her body more towards the Latina and uses her free hand to wipe away a stray tear. Santana leans into her touch as she closes her eyes.

"_Sorry_..." the profiler whispers out as she raises her right hand to wipe away the rest of her tears, keeping her left hand clasped with the blonde's. "I didn't mean to."

"I've never seen you cry before," the liaison whispers back.

Santana lightly chuckles. "I try not to make it a habit," she says as she finally opens her eyes. She looks over at Brittany, the glossiness still covering her eyes.

"Why... umm..." Brittany starts to say, but then stops. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Sorry... I'm making you uncomfortable," Santana assumes, looking away from the blonde again.

"No, it's just... no one's ever looked at me like that before," the liaison clarifies. "You always look at me so _intensely_."

"You're the _only_ person I look at like that," Santana whispers as she slowly looks back up at the blonde.

Brittany is stunned for a moment, caught off guard once again by the Latina's bluntness. On the other hand, the blonde is really enjoying this vulnerable side of her best friend.

As Brittany takes a minute to look over the other woman's features, she can't help but be in awe of the beauty staring back at her. She can't stop her eyes from flickering back and forth between Santana's mocha eyes and her pouty lips.

Brittany's mouth falls partially open, but before she can say anything, she's interrupted.

"Hey guys..." Puck starts to say before he realizes that he may be intruding. "Umm... Quinn's on the phone; I think we finally got something."

"Okay... we'll be in in a sec," the blonde says, answering for both of them. Noah nods his head in understanding before heading back inside. Brittany then looks down and sees the contrast of her hand mixed with Santana's. "I guess I should give you this back."

"I guess so..." the profiler solemnly replies as she removes her hand from the blonde's. "I know this is probably inappropriate - _and Sylvester would probably flip out_ - but... I really like holding your hand," Santana genuinely states.

"Yeah... me too," Brittany bashfully replies.

The liaison and the profiler then stand up from the bench and make their way back inside to join the rest of the team.

"Hey guys..." Santana says as she looks around at everyone in the room. "I'm sorry about how I acted earlier. It was completely unprofessional and rude. Will... I'm sorry for how I addressed you earlier. It was disrespectful and uncalled for," she sincerely states. Schue - _stoic as ever_ - just nods his head, forgiving his agent for her minor lapse in judgment. "And Finn... I'm sorry for snapping at you like that. You didn't deserve that."

"Yeah, I did... I was being an ass," Hudson responds. "We good?" He asks as he raises his fist.

"Yeah... we're good," Santana replies as she connects her fist with the tall agent with the impish look on his face.

"Sorry to break up this little _love-in_ we've got going on, but I believe Quinn has some news for us," Puck says.

"_Thank you_!" Quinn says through the speakerphone, sounding slightly annoyed. Everyone on the other end of the receiver just rolls their eyes, knowing that the analyst wasn't really annoyed. "So, like I was saying before the interruption... I've got big news!"

"Alright Fabray, the floor is yours," Schue says.

"Alrighty... I still can't find any connection between the first 2 vics and the last one, but I did find out some interesting info on the 2 people you asked me to look into," Quinn begins. "Marley's got a squeaky clean record, not even a speeding ticket. However, your boy Ryder is different story..."

"Baby girl, spit it out already," Puckerman says impatiently.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you that patience is a virtue?" Fabray playfully retorts. "Ryder is a foster kid. He became a ward of the state at 12."

"From the looks of it, he bounced around a lot of foster homes before he turned 18," Santana says as she reviews the PDF that Quinn had just sent to everyone's iPads. "Quinn... what happened to his parents?"

"They were killed in a house fire..."

"You don't say," Puck knowingly says.

"According to the police report, Ryder was spending the night at a friend's house," Hudson adds in. "It was ruled an accident."

"Looks like Ryder is becoming more of a viable suspect," Artie says, stating the obvious.

"What if Ryder wasn't at his friend's house the whole time?" Schue poses the question.

"12 year old boy sneaking out of the house... easy peasy," Puck nonchalantly says.

"You would know..." Santana smugly says. Noah playfully rolls his eyes at her.

"Let's think about this for a sec," Dr. Abrams cuts in. "What if Ryder snuck out and went back home... maybe even witnessed the fire?"

"Better yet... what if he actually started it?" Finn inquires. "That would definitely explain the obsession with fires."

"Fabray... did we find any connection with the ketamine?" Schue asks.

"Now, I didn't have any hits on any thefts of ketamine in the area, but..." Fabray draws out, "... guess who used to work at a vet hospital while putting themselves through school?"

"Let me guess... _Ryder Lynn_?" Brittany ponders.

"Ding ding ding... tell the pretty girl what she's won," Quinn happily announces.

As the team shares a subtle laugh, Brittany catches Santana's eye. The Latina shoots the blonde a wink, causing her to shyly duck her head and tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Is there anything else, Fabray?" Schue questions.

"Not at this time sir," the tech analyst replies.

"Alright... good work Quinn," Schue uncharacteristically states, calling the blonde by her first name. "Keep it up."

"Will do, sir... Fabray out!"

"Okay... we need to double check Ryder's alibi for the night of Tina's murder," Schue says. "We also need to find out his whereabouts on the other 2 vics."

"We should also go back and gather the same info on Marley as well," Puckerman adds in. "Everything we have on Ryder is circumstantial. The only real link we have between him and at least 2 of the vics is through her."

"He's right," Schue agrees. "You guys work on establishing a timeline. I'm gonna go update Lt. Beiste and get a couple of uniforms to sit on both subjects until we're ready to move."

As Schue exits the room, the group chats idly amongst themselves until there's a knock on the door.

"Agent Lopez?" one of the officers say as Santana acknowledges them. "There's a Samuel Evans here to see you."

"Okay, thanks... send him back," the Latina replies.

"Who's this Evans guy?" Brittany wonders.

"He's Mercedes' fiancé," Santana says as she steps out of the room to see the blonde-haired man being escorted towards her. "Hey Sam... what's going on?"

"Hey Agent Lopez," he greets back. "I found this at my apartment last night... it belongs to Mercedes," Sam says as he retrieves a red laptop from his knapsack and hands it to the profiler. "I thought that maybe you guys might find something useful on it, like something that might help the case."

"Thanks, Sam... I'll have our tech look through it and get it back to you as soon as possible," Santana says as she places her iPad down on the nearby desk to take the laptop from the man.

"Okay... I'm gonna go now," Sam says as he turns around to leave. However, something on Santana's iPad catches his attention. "Why do you have a picture of Marley?"

The question catches the Latina off guard. "Wait... _you_ know Marley Rose?"

"_Sort of_... she's more of an acquaintance," Sam replies. "I only knew her because of Mercedes."

"She was a friend of Mercedes?" Santana inquires.

"You could say that. I think Mercedes was more of a mentor to her," Sam responds. "They actually went to the same school, but graduated in different years. I know Mercedes was upset about having to let her go..."

"What do you mean?"

"Marley's like this really talented songwriter so Mercedes talked to her producers and they ended up hiring her to write a few songs," Sam begins. "But, I guess the first song she demoed for them didn't go over so well; they said that it didn't really 'flow' with the rest of the album. So... they let her go. Mercedes was heartbroken."

"By any chance... do you know how Marley took the news?" Santana questions.

"No, I don't..." Sam replies. "I think she was supposed to meet up with her sometime this week, y'know... to break the news to her."

"_I wonder if that night was last night_?" Santana mumbles to herself. "Well, thanks again Sam. I'll be in touch."

The blonde-haired man shoots the profiler a small smile before turning around and heading back towards the exit. Santana immediately heads back to her team to share this new information. As she makes it to the bulletin board where all of their potential leads are attached to, she takes the photo of Marley and places it towards the top, right in the center of everything else.

"_Marley Rose_... she's the key."

"Care to elaborate Lopez?" Puck says.

"Marley was working with Mercedes on her debut album... until she was fired," Santana clarifies.

"How recent?" Schue questions.

"Earlier this week," the Latina responds. "It wasn't Mercedes' call, but I hardly doubt that would matter to Marley. She's the puzzle piece that links all 3 victims together."

"That might also explain why there was no forced entry at any of the crime scenes," Brittany keys in. "But... what about Ryder?"

"Maybe he's involved; maybe not..." Santana answers.

"Maybe they're working together," Hudson adds in.

"Either way... we need to speak to both of them _now_," Santana sternly states.

"I'll have Beiste pick them up," Schue responds. "In the meantime, everyone get your gear... I'll call the warrant in on the way."

As everyone nods their heads in understanding, Brittany catches Santana's attention, holding her back as the rest of the team files out of the room.

"Nice catch, San..." Brittany softly says as she gently rubs the Latina's arm.

"Thanks, Britt."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Hey guys! I know what you're thinking; 2 chapters in 2 days… you're welcome ;)


	5. Right in Front of Me

"_First best is falling in love. Second best is being in love. Least best is falling out of love. But any of it is better than never having been in love."_ _- Maya Angelou_

* * *

As soon as each team member is outfitted with their bulletproof vests and ear pieces, they meet back inside of the conference room with Lt. Beiste and her team.

"According to this schedule, both subjects should be at the theatre for rehearsals," Schue states.

"I just got a call from Detective Hollis," Lt. Beiste begins. "He's got the warrants in hand and will be sending a uniform to meet with you guys at each location."

"Ok... good," Schue replies. "Puckerman, Lopez, and Brittany... check out the theatre and see if we can't grab both of our subjects at once. Hudson and Abrams... you'll take Rose's apartment and Lt. Beiste and I will hit Lynn's place. Everyone clear?"

"Yes sir!" The team replies in unison.

"Alright then... let's get these sick bastards before anyone else gets hurt," Schue says sternly.

"You heard the man... let's move!" Lt. Beiste yells towards her officers.

As each team splits up and head towards their respective SUVs, Puckerman receives a conference call from Fabray.

"Hello my Jewish Adonis... you're on with Schue and Hudson," Quinn says as the profiler answers the phone.

"What've you got?" Schue inquires.

"With the new info our resident Latina was able to provide, I was able to confirm that Marley Rose was indeed terminated from her contract with Interscope Records exactly 3 days ago," the tech analyst begins. "I also confirmed that Miss Rose did graduate from the same school as Mercedes. Apparently they met when Ms. Jones came to visit the Glee club at her old Alma Mater, which Marley was a member of. Based on Marley's social media pages, Mercedes was her idol."

"That only builds a stronger motive for Marley," Brittany states. "We still don't have anything concrete to link Ryder."

"I know my dears... I'm still working on that," Quinn sadly replies. "Anyways, I just wanted to update you guys on that before you go kick some ass. Be safe, my loves."

The call ends as each team gets closer to their final destination.

"Alright, we'll take the inside and try to make contact with our subjects," Santana says to the officers on scene once Puck pulls up in front of the theatre. "You guys cover the perimeter, just in case they try to run."

Once clear on their assignments, Puck, Santana, and Brittany enter the Eugene O'Neil theatre and make their way towards the stage.

"Excuse me, you can't be here..." a man, presumably the director, states as he hears some commotion behind him. "This is a closed rehearsal."

"FBI..." Puckerman states as he flashes his credentials. "Sorry to disrupt your practice, but we need to speak to Marley Rose and Ryder Lynn."

As the director opens his mouth to reply, a loud crash coming from behind the curtain draws the agents' attention. Puckerman then hops onto the stage just in time to see a flash of brown hair disappear further behind backstage.

"Lopez... he's heading your way," Noah quickly says into his radio to alert his partner.

"_Dammit to hell_," Santana mumbles under her breath.

It was a known fact that the profiler hated to run unless it was absolutely necessary. As she turns around towards the direction she hears movement, she comes face-to-face with a fairly muscular white male with a Justin Bieber-style haircut.

"_Shit_..." Ryder says as he realizes that the Latina - _currently holding a Glock pointed at his chest_ - is blocking his way out.

"Mr. Lynn... you need to come with us down to the precinct so we can talk to you," Santana tries to reason with the young man. "Don't make this any worse than it already is."

Ryder appears to contemplate his decision for a split second before ultimately deciding to take his chances. As he turns around to run back towards the way he came, he stops in his tracks once again once he sees Agent Puckerman closing in on his location. However, before he's able to formulate another escape route, Ryder is tackled from behind by Agent Lopez.

"Why'd you have to run?" Santana asks rhetorically. "I hate running."

Once the Latina applies the handcuffs to Ryder's wrists, she stands him up so that Noah can pat him down.

"So... you're the infamous Ryder Lynn I've been hearing so much about?" Puck questions as he roughly searches Ryder's person.

"Look... I don't know what you think I've done, but I promise I'm innocent," Ryder pleads.

"Yeah... that's why innocent people _always_ run away from the cops," Puckerman says as he directs the Bieber wannabe towards the exit.

"Marley's not here," Brittany says to Santana, making her presence known. "No one's seen or talked to her today. The director said she's never missed a rehearsal before either."

"Okay... she must've gotten a heads up that we were coming," Santana replies once she catches her breath.

"Either that or she got spooked from our little interviews last night," the liaison suggests. "By the way... nice tackle," she adds in with a wink.

"Um... thanks?" The Latina replies as she tries to process the flirtatious wink she had just received from the object of her affection. "You should let the others know we have Lynn in custody."

"Already on it," Brittany replies as she shoots the profiler another wink while walking away from the brunette.

"_Did she just wink at me..._ _**twice?**_" Santana thinks to herself. "_Maybe I'm starting to lose my mind_..."

* * *

Once the trio arrived back at the precinct with the Lynn subject, they place him in an interrogation room while they touch bases with the rest of their team still out in the field.

"Any trace of Marley at her apartment?" Puck inquires as he talks to Hudson and Abrams on speakerphone.

"Nope... looks like she left in a hurry though," the boy genius answers. "There's food on the stove that's probably been sitting here since last night and it looks like she may have packed a bag."

"Alright... keep searching. Maybe there's some clue to where she might've gone."

"How bout you guys?" Santana directs her question towards Schue and Lt. Beiste, whom are on the other line.

"Nothing that definitively links Lynn to any of the other victims besides Ms. Cohen-Chang," Schue responds.

"We did happen to find a very disturbing collage of photos on the ceiling of his bedroom, directly above his bed," Lt. Beiste chimes in.

"Pictures of what?" Brittany ponders.

"Marley Rose..."

"That might be something we can work with," Santana suggests.

"Hopefully Mr. Lynn will be more helpful in person," Schue states. "Keep me updated."

"Will do," Puck says as he ends the call. "Santana... why don't you go in first and try to feel him out."

Santana just nods in understanding as she exits that room and enters the interrogation room.

"Mr. Lynn... are you doing okay? Can I get you some water or something?" Santana politely asks.

"I just wanna go home. I don't understand why I'm here," Ryder replies.

"And I want to get you home as soon as possible, but there are a couple of things we need to clear up," the profiler says in a very understanding tone.

"What kind of things?"

"How well did you know the other two victims?" Santana questions.

"Like I told the other agents last night, I didn't know them at all... _personally_, that is," Ryder responds.

"Can you account for your whereabouts on the nights of the murders?"

"I was at home... _alone_."

"Of course you were," Santana states, feeling her patience starting to trickle down. "What's your relationship with Marley Rose?"

"She's my girlfriend. Why?"

"When was the last time you saw or spoke to her?"

"Last night after the show," Ryder replies. "Why are you asking about Marley?"

"Because she's missing and we really need to talk to her," the Latina replies. "Where is she Ryder?"

"I d-don't know."

"He's lying," Noah comments from the other side of the glass.

"How do you know?" Brittany ponders.

"Wait for it..."

"_Bullshit!_" Santana exclaims as she slams her fist down on the table. Ryder is immediately taken aback. Brittany slightly jumps at the sudden loud noise. "You seriously expect me to believe that you haven't talked to your girlfriend since last night and you have no idea where she is?"

"I'm telling you the truth, I swear!"

"I believe that's my queue," Puck says as he leaves Brittany and makes his way into the interrogation room. "Alright fuck face, I'm tired of dealing with your bullshit," he states, addressing the man.

"_What is going on?_" Brittany thinks to herself, curious about her co-workers' antics.

"You're gonna be cooperative and tell us what we fucking wanna know or else you're going down for all of this," Puck demands.

"What is this... bad cop, _worst_ cop?" Ryder rhetorically asks.

"You think this is fucking funny?!" Puckerman says as he pounds he fist against the table.

"Look at this..." Santana says as she begins to place photos of all the victims and crime scenes on the table in front of Ryder. "_Rachel Berry_... _Tina Cohen-Chang_... _Mercedes Jones!_"

Ryder squints his eyes in disgust as he turns to look away, but Puck has other plans.

"She said look at it!" Noah yells at the man, grabbing his head and forcing him to look at the photos. "Don't be a pussy! Don't you wanna see your handy work?"

"No! Please, stop!" Ryder begins to sob out. "I didn't do this! I swear, I didn't hurt anyone."

"Well I don't fucking believe you!" Puck yells out in response.

"Did you enjoy watching these girls burn?" Santana questions, getting right in the boy's face. "How bout Mercedes, hmm? Did you enjoy watching her flesh burn while she was still alive?!" The profiler says as she picks up a rather disturbing photo and shoves it right in his face.

"I swear, I didn't hurt her!" Ryder repeats as he turns his head towards the side and starts throwing up.

Brittany watches on with a concerned expression until she sees Santana looking back towards the double-sided mirror. Although she knows the Latina can't see her, she can faintly make out the movement of her lips mouthing 'Brittany'. The liaison is confused at first because she doesn't know why Santana would be asking for her when it appeared that she and Puck had just about broken Ryder to the point where he would talk.

On a whim, she takes a chance and enters the interrogation room.

"_Lopez_... _Puckerman_... that's enough!" Brittany says with authority as she addresses her colleagues.

"SSA Pierce... we didn't know you were here," Santana says with a surprised expression, playing along.

"I figured as much since you two have been acting completely unprofessional," Brittany continues. "This man is a vital part to our investigation, yet you treat him like shit; like a criminal?"

"SSA Pierce—," Puck starts to say.

"_Save it!_" Brittany exclaims. "Both of you... out! _Now!_"

Without further questioning, both agents scurry out of the room and back to the other to watch how the blonde handles herself.

"I know we're in the middle of trying to catch a sadistic murderer, but would it be totally wrong to say that Brittany just gave me some serious lady wood?" Santana ponders while continuing to look through the two-way mirror at the liaison and their suspect.

"Not at all..." Puck says as he lifts his fist for his partner to bump, in which she does. "Bossy Brittany is totally hot."

"I'm sorry about my agents... are you okay?" Brittany asks sounding genuinely concerned while handing Ryder a towel to wipe his face off with. "Here... drink this," she says while handing him a bottle of water.

"Your agents are crazy," Ryder says as his breathing starts to regulate.

"I know they can be overzealous at times, but they mean well," the liaison states as she begins to collect the horrible pictures off of the table and nestle them back into a folder. "However, what they did to you was unacceptable and I won't stand for it. They'll both be suspended for their ill-conceived tactics."

"_Suspended?_" Santana and Noah both mouth to each other in curious disbelief. "Your girl is really going all out. It's almost like Schue is in there."

"_She's not my girl_..." Santana sadly mumbles under her breath.

"Not _yet_..." Noah cheekily replies as he winks at his partner. She just shakes her head at him.

"Although my agents were wrong about how they approached things, they had their reasons," Brittany picks back up. When Ryder gives her a confused look, she continues. "We're concerned about Marley."

"What do you mean?" Ryder asks.

"These 3 murders that happened... they weren't random," the blonde begins. "These women were killed by someone they knew; someone that didn't want them to be successful anymore."

"I'm not sure I'm following."

"Marley is an up and comer, just like you..." Brittany continues. "How long do you think it will take before someone wants to dim her star that is shining so bright right now?"

"You think Marley's gonna be the next victim?" Ryder asks worriedly.

"We didn't want to alarm you at first, but yes," Brittany confirms. "That's why it's imperative that we find her. Her life is in danger."

"_Oh my God!_" Ryder exclaims as he stands from the table and starts pacing back and forth. "I thought you guys just wanted to harass her because you thought she did this."

"No, Ryder... we just want to help her," Brittany carefully states, "… before it's too late."

"She's at her grandma's house in Jersey," Ryder finally spits out.

"Thank you, Ryder," Brittany says as she makes her way to exit the room.

"Wait... what about me?" Ryder questions, pointing to the cuffs still securely around his wrists. "When do I get to leave?"

"We still may have some more questions for you later. Plus... running from us earlier didn't really help your case," Brittany replies. Ryder shakes his head in understanding.

As Brittany re-joins her fellow co-workers, she sees Santana on her phone.

"Quinn, can you locate an address for Marley's grandmother?"

"Yep... got it right here," the tech analyst replies back almost instantly.

"Great! Send that to the others in the field."

"Will do, my sexy Latina," Quinn cheekily replies. "Fabray out!"

"That was some impressive bullshitting you did in there," Puck compliments the liaison.

"What can I say... I learned from the best," Brittany replies as she casually bumps her shoulder against Santana's and briefly catches her eye. "So... what now?"

"We wait..." Santana replies. "Once they bring in Marley, we'll see if we can get her to crack."

"But what if she doesn't?" Brittany questions. "I honestly don't think Ryder killed any of these girls; however, I do think he would do anything for Marley. Our case is still purely circumstantial."

"I completely agree with you," the Latina responds. "Without hard evidence, we're most definitely gonna need a confession."

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see how far Ryder is willing to go to protect his girl," Noah adds in. "I'm gonna go update Schue," the profiler says as he exits the room.

"You were really great in there," Santana softly states.

"Thanks," Brittany says bashfully as she brushes a piece of imaginary hair out of her face. "I wasn't really sure what you wanted me to do, but I figured he might be more cooperative if I approached him as the 'good' cop and made it seem like I gave a crap about his girlfriend."

"You have great instincts, Britt..." Santana states genuinely. "You should really think about becoming a profiler."

"I don't know... what if I did get certified and the department ends up putting me with a different team?" Brittany worriedly states.

"Sylvester may be bat shit crazy, but I don't think she or anyone else would be stupid enough to break up our team," Santana casually replies. Brittany chuckles at the Latina's use of words. "What?" Santana asks amusedly.

"Nothing, it's just... you always seem to know how to make me smile," the liaison timidly responds.

"I don't like seeing you sad," the profiler nonchalantly replies. "You have a beautiful smile; you shouldn't hide it."

Once again, Brittany finds herself stuck between a rock and a hard place. She can't seem to stop herself from staring back and forth from Santana's eyes and lips, thus making her intake of air a bit shallow. Santana feels like she's on a string, being pulled closer to Brittany. However, she has the wherewithal to realize that this is not the time nor place to be getting lost in the blonde's cerulean orbs.

"_Anyways_..." Santana says while clearing her throat, thus breaking the sexual tension that could be cut with a knife. "If anything, Sylvester would probably just have you pulling double duty as liaison and profiler until they could find a replacement."

"As long as I still got to work with the team - _mostly __**you**_ - then I guess that would be okay," Brittany shyly states. "I really love working with you," the blonde says as she takes a step closer to the Latina.

"_Yeah?_" Santana questions as her breath hitches in her throat. Brittany nods in confirmation. "Me too..."

Brittany loosely crosses her arms over her chest as she takes another step towards Santana. The Latina's hands remain in her pockets as her heart rate elevates. Both women know that even if something were to ever happen between them, it definitely wouldn't take place here in the open for everyone to see. No... something like this deserves a much quieter and private setting where there could be no possibility of interruptions.

But… at this moment, the need to be close to the other woman is outweighing the rational thought of the inappropriate setting they're currently in.

"You're looking at me like _that_ again," Brittany whispers out.

"_Sorry_... force of habit," Santana replies just as softly, but she doesn't look away like she did earlier.

"Don't be... I, uh..." Brittany stumbles on her words.

"You what?" Santana softly asks as she takes a step forward this time, continuing to stare at the blonde.

"I really like it when you look at me," Brittany confesses. "You look at me like I'm the only person in the room."

"_To me_..." the profiler begins as she takes another step closer, "... _you are_."

Santana subconsciously licks her lips as her eyes flicker to Brittany's lips. Once she looks back up, it appears that the liaison's eyes have turned a darker shade of blue. It's becoming increasingly difficult for Santana to not take that final step and remove the little bit of space that separates her from the blonde. Luckily, the sound of Puck's voice snaps her back to reality - _a __**much**__ needed interruption_.

Both women casually take a step back from each other as Noah's voice gets closer. "Hey guys... some uniforms in Jersey just picked up our girl," Puck informs as he pops his head into the room, trying his best to ignore the obvious sexual tension between his two female counterparts. "She should be arriving within the hour."

As Puck disappears from sight again, Santana takes this opportunity to get some fresh air. "I'm gonna go set up the other interrogation room and grab some coffee. You want one?"

"Yeah, sure... you know how I like it," Brittany responds, her voice a little grittier than usual.

Santana shoots the blonde a small smile before quickly exiting the room, feeling her face starting to heat up from Brittany's tone. As soon as the liaison finds herself alone again, she quickly pulls out her phone and shoots a text to the all-knowing queen of knowledge.

**To Quinn:**_ Is it possible to be so incredibly turned on by someone without them even touching you?_

Almost immediately, Brittany receives a reply back.

**To Blonde Bombshell:** _Ooh... this story just keeps getting more interesting ;)_

Before Brittany has a chance to respond to the other blonde, she receives another text.

**To Blonde Bombshell:** _Something else happen since this morning?_

Brittany takes a minute to type out her response before erasing it completely. She then takes a deep breath and re-types the same exact thing. Giving one last look at her reply, she quickly hits the send button before she has the chance to chicken out.

**To Quinn:** _I think I'm falling for my best friend_

"_What am I gonna do now?_" Brittany whispers to herself.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Hey guys! Here's another update. Hope you enjoyed it and thanks again for the continued support. I know that some of you are probably dying for something to happen between Brittany and Santana already, but I hope that the progression of the story so far is enough to keep you interested.

Til next time,  
- **Kris**


	6. The Truth Shall Set You Free

"_Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters." - Albert Einstein_

* * *

Just as Puck had stated, less than an hour later, Marley Rose arrived at the precinct wearing silver bracelets. As the girl at the center of their investigation is escorted to an interrogation room, the entire team looks on.

"She looks so..." Brittany starts to say, but loses her train of thought.

"Not what you'd expect?" Santana finishes for her.

"Yeah... I mean, I know we have her picture up on the board, but she just doesn't look like the type of person that would be mixed up in something like this," the liaison explains.

"I know what you mean," Puck chimes in. "No one expects the girl next door to be a psycho killer."

"Alright guys... we still have CSU at both of their places trying to find some tangible evidence," Schue states. "However, if they are unable to find anything then a confession is our best shot. Who's up first?"

"Sir..." Puck says as he raises his hand. Once he receives a nod from his commander, he continues. "I was wondering if Lopez and I could have a run at her... if Finn and Artie don't mind," the profiler says. "I mean, she already lied to you guys about knowing Mercedes; maybe we can use that to really put her back against the wall."

"I'm fine with that, as long as the guys don't mind," their leader responds.

"Go for it bro," Hudson replies as Abrams gives them a thumbs up.

"Alright... I guess we're up again," the Latina says as she and Noah leave the room and enter the interrogation room. "Miss Rose?" As the young lady slightly nods her head, she continues. "I'm Agent Lopez and this is my partner, Agent Puckerman."

"Hmm... my ex-boyfriend's last name is Puckerman. Any relation?" Marley casually asks.

"Is it just me or does she seem oddly calm for someone facing 3 murder charges?" Brittany thinks out loud, watching from the other side of the glass.

"It's typical behavior of a sociopath," Dr. Abrams informs. "It's easy for them to disassociate themselves from certain things due to their lack of conscience."

"It's what makes people like her diabolical," Schue states in his usual monotone voice.

"No... no relation," Puck replies.

"Oh, okay..." Marley nonchalantly says. "So is someone gonna tell me why I'm here?"

"You seem like a really smart girl Marley..." Agent Puckerman begins to say, "... I'm sure you can figure it out."

"Like I told your people last night, I don't know anything."

"That's funny..." Santana casually says as she flips through some pages of the folder she's currently holding, "cause you also told my partners last night that you didn't know Mercedes Jones, but we both know that's not true."

"It must've slipped my mind," Marley simply states, her demeanor never changing.

"_Really?_ I kind of find that hard to believe," Santana replies with a sarcastic tone. "I mean... just looking at your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages... it looks like you guys were pretty tight. In fact, it almost seems like Mercedes was someone you really looked up to."

"Like I said... it must've slipped my mind," the brunette repeats. "Maybe I was just so grief-stricken that I didn't comprehend what the other agents were asking me."

"_So_... where were you last night?" Puckerman inquires.

"I was at the theatre with the rest of the cast, getting ready for the show," Marley responds.

"I meant before the show started," Noah clarifies.

"I was probably at home."

"_Probably?_" Santana interjects.

"Yeah... that's what I said, isn't it?" Marley cattily replies.

Santana's jaw tightens as she tries to remain professional and resist the temptation to slap the shit out of the younger woman in front of her.

"Uh oh... San looks like she's about to kill that girl," Brittany says, genuinely concerned for the other girl in the room with her best friend.

"Lopez is a professional," Finn states. "I'm sure she'll refrain from doing anything hasty... _hopefully_."

"Maybe we should switch gears," Santana finally says after a long pause.

"Miss Rose... what's your relationship with Ryder Lynn?" Puck questions.

"He's a friend and a co-worker," Marley says as she shrugs her shoulders.

"So... there's no _romantic_ relationship between the two of you?" Puckerman inquires further.

"With that loser... _puh-lease_," Marley scoffs at the idea. "That dude has been trying to get with me for like the past 2 years. It's like buddy... take the hint."

"_Hmm... that's interesting_," the liaison mumbles under her breath.

"What's that?" Schue questions.

"Ryder told us that Marley was his girlfriend."

"_Clearly_ he has a misrepresentation of what that word actually means," Hudson states.

"Or maybe she's been playing him like she's been playing everyone else," Brittany suggests. "I mean, look at her... playing _Miss Innocent_. I'm just waiting for the waterworks to start."

"So you and Ryder are _just_ friends?" Santana asks for clarification.

"If you can even call it that," Marley says, unimpressed. "The dude is obsessed with me."

Noah and Santana share a look as they process the young woman's last statement.

"_Wait_... what's that look?" Brittany ponders, observing the exchange between the two profilers.

"I think they just found their way in," Schue replies.

"How far do you think Ryder would go to impress you... to get you to notice him?" Puck questions.

"What do you mean?"

"Like... do you think Ryder would kill someone for you?" Santana speculates.

"I thought we were looking at Marley for all of the murders?" Dr. Abrams questions. "It sounds like they're giving her a way out."

"No... it's genius," Brittany chimes in. "They're setting her up by planting this idea that Ryder is so obsessed with her that he killed those girls to impress her."

"Well... let's just see if she takes the bait," Schue states.

"I... I don't know," Marley hesitantly replies. "He's always been really nice, but I guess you never know what people are truly capable of."

"_They totally have her now_," Brittany says with a little smirk on her face.

"I guess not..." Santana plays along as she sits across from the brunette. "As jacked up as it sounds, it's almost kind of romantic, right?"

Marley scrunches up her eyebrows in confusion, waiting for the Latina to continue.

"I mean, think about it... here is this guy that's willing to do anything - _and I mean anything_ - for you, just so you can have your moment in the spotlight," Santana says, attempting to build some type of trust with the girl. "I'd be totally swooning if a guy was that dedicated to me."

"_Wait_... isn't Lopez like _capital_ _G_ gay?" Finn thinks out loud.

"Yes... but Marley doesn't know that," Brittany says a little defensively. "She's trying to relate to her so that maybe she'll open up and accidentally reveal something."

"Yeah... I guess that makes sense," the Jolly Green Giant look-a-like says.

"So what are you saying? Do you really think Ryder killed those girls... my _friends?_" Marley says a bit frightened. The profiling duo easily sees through her act though.

"It's possible... I mean, he did cripple your ex-boyfriend so that he could be your leading male," the Latina reveals.

"Wait... are you saying that Ryder is the one that attacked Jake?"

"I'm afraid so."

"_Oh my God!_" Marley exclaims. "What if I'm next on his list? You guys have to protect me."

"Lopez... you aren't really buying this bullshit, are you?" Puckerman finally says.

"C'mon Puckerman, _look_ at her... does she really look like she's capable of committing such heinous acts?" Santana retorts.

"I can't believe you're so gullible," Puck responds as he shakes his head. "That's why women shouldn't be in this field; you let your damn emotions interfere with your common sense."

Agent Puckerman just sighs exasperatedly before abruptly leaving the room.

"_Geez_... what's his problem?" Marley questions.

"He's just a misogynistic asshole," Santana replies. "To tell you the truth, he thinks you did it but can't quite figure out how. It's driving him crazy."

"What did you guys think of my performance?" Puck inquires as he enters the viewing room with the rest of the team.

"I'd say it was quite stellar," Dr. Abrams applauds.

"You think she bought it?"

"See for yourself," Finn says as he motions towards the two women remaining in the interrogation room.

"So... does that mean you believe me?" Marley asks the Latina hopefully.

"Yeah, I do... but unfortunately I'm the only one that thinks you're innocent," Santana sincerely states, staying in character. She even goes a step further and removes the handcuffs from the brunette to make her feel more comfortable. "If only we had some solid proof to link Ryder to the murders..."

"What if you can't find any?" Marley asks worriedly.

"Then more than likely, we're gonna have to release him."

Marley stays eerily quiet for the next minute, trying to figure out what her next move is going to be. Santana watches her closely, observing the mental breakdown happening right before her.

"What if I knew something that could help?" Marley cautiously says.

"I'm listening..."

"Ryder once told me that his family died in a fire," she begins. "He was supposed to be staying at a friend's house, but he snuck out and went home. He told me that he saw the fire and heard his parents screaming, but he couldn't do anything to help them."

"_Okay_... what does that have to do with anything?" Santana pushes.

Marley takes a shaky breath, probably for dramatic effect. "He totally creeped me out when he told me that story."

"Creeped you out how?"

"Like to the point where I thought that he actually set the fire and killed his parents," Marley replies as her lips tremble and her eyes start to water. "Ryder also used to play baseball. It wouldn't surprise me if he used one of his old bats to beat up Jake," she adds in as an afterthought, letting a single tear fall from her eye.

"Told you she would cry," Brittany says to the other guys in the room.

"Okay... we might be able to work with that," Santana says as she stands up from the table and lightly squeezes the other girl's shoulder. "You stay here, okay. I'm gonna go look into this stuff. You'll be safe here."

Once she gets the nod of approval from Marley, Santana exits the room and re-joins her team.

* * *

"That was quite the performance she put on in there," Puck says to his partner.

"Yeah... but San's was better," Brittany casually states as she winks at her best friend.

Santana shoots the blonde a small smile before focusing on the task at hand. "We got her Schue... she just conveniently put the smoking gun in Lynn's hands."

"I agree... this is exactly what we need to break Ryder," Noah adds in. "He knows more than he's letting on, probably because he's trying to protect her."

"If we show him how evil and manipulating Marley really is and just how easily she threw him under the bus, I think we could crack him," Artie says.

Before their fearless leader can respond, he's interrupted by the ringing of someone's cell phone.

"It's Fabray," Puck announces as he answers the call. "Baby girl, you're on speakerphone."

"Alright guys, I just got off the phone with the crime scene techs and you're not gonna believe this," Quinn starts off. "I went back and did a sweep of Lynn's computer and found some very interesting web searches."

"Interesting how?" Hudson questions.

"Well... in his browser history, there were several sites that he looked at in reference to how to make GHB and how much ketamine would you need to knock a person unconscious," the tech analyst responds.

"That's just making him look guiltier," Brittany says solemnly.

"That doesn't make any sense though," Santana chimes in. "I can understand doing a search for how to make your own GHB, but Ryder worked at a vet hospital..."

"… which means he would already have the knowledge of what ketamine does to the human body," the liaison finishes her sentence.

"You lovely ladies are very correct," Quinn states knowingly. "The interesting part is that the history on Lynn's computer was never erased, so anyone who went onto his computer could've pulled it up."

"That doesn't seem very smart or methodical, which our killer is," Dr. Abrams adds in.

"Right you are, Specs!" Fabray states. "Even more so, the dates on when these websites were looked up only date back to last week."

"Tina was the only victim that had GHB in her system," Noah begins to say. "If she was killed three months ago, assuming Ryder is our UnSub, then why would he need to look up how to make GHB for someone he's already incapacitated and killed?"

"He wouldn't..." Santana answers, "... but the person setting him up might, to ensure that we found it and were able to link him to the remaining victims."

"I also looked into the fire that killed Lynn's parents," Quinn interrupts. "There's nothing to suggest that the fire was anything but an accident, caused by faulty wiring."

"Maybe hearing the story about how his parents died just gave Marley another element she could use to frame Ryder," Finn says. "What are we missing here?"

"The primary crime scene," Santana adds in. "We know that Berry wasn't attacked at her apartment, but we don't know what was used to knock her out or how she got back to back to her apartment."

"Maybe we do..." Brittany says as an idea pops into her head. She quickly exits the room, seemingly on a mission. She returns shortly after with a folder in hand. "Q... can you pull up the DMV records and tell me what kind of vehicle is registered to Ryder?"

"Sure thing, Sweet Pea..." Fabray says as the team hears rapid typing coming from the other end of the phone. "It looks like Ryder is the proud owner of a 2003 Ford Ranger, green in color."

"Britt... what's going on?" Santana asks curiously.

"I just got the preliminary results back from the sweeps of both of our suspects' residences," the liaison begins. "There were traces of blood found in Marley's apartment, specifically in her living room. They're running the sample now."

"I think I have a pretty good idea of whom that sample belongs to," Schue says. "What else does the report say Brittany?"

"They also found a wooden baseball bat at Ryder's apartment. It also had samples of blood on it, which are being tested as well," the blonde answers. "The weird thing though... there were absolutely no prints found on the bat."

"Almost like somebody wiped it off," Santana suggests.

"Hey guys... here's something else that ironic," Quinn says, gaining everyone's attention again. "The day after Rachel's body was found, there's a charge on Ryder's credit card at a place called Stop-n-Suds."

"What the hell is that?" Finn asks confusedly.

"It's a car wash," Quinn simply answers. "Anyways, I was able to pull video from that fine establishment on the day in question and it looks like Ryder was _very_ thorough at detailing his truck, specifically the bed of the truck."

"I bet the bed of his truck is wide enough to transport a lifeless body," Puck adds in.

_Knock... knock... knock..._

"Will... sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to get this to you right away," Lt. Beiste says as she enters the room with a folder in hand.

"What is it Shannon?" Schue asks, addressing his old friend by her first name.

"Our techs found matches to the blood samples," Lt. Beiste says eagerly as she hands the folder to Agent Schuester.

As Schue carefully reads over the results, the team is dying with anticipation.

"Well, Schue... what does it say," Puck anxiously asks.

"The sample of DNA found in the living room of the apartment belonging to Marley Rose is a 99.9% positive match to that of Rachel Berry..." Schue reads aloud to his team.

"That's it! We've got her!" Hudson excitedly says.

"Hold on a sec... there's more," Santana says as she picks up where Schue left off. "It's says here that the traces of blood found on the bat were a mixture of two DNA samples, one being more degraded than the other."

"Well... spit it out Lopez!" Puck exclaims.

"The first sample belongs to Rachel..."

"So, we finally have our weapon of choice..." Artie states.

"The second sample belongs to... _Jake Puckerman_?" Santana says, a little surprised.

"_Jake?_" Brittany ponders. "Why do we even have his DNA sample in the system?"

"When we initially started this investigation, we asked everyone we interviewed for a voluntary sample of their DNA so that they could be eliminated as a suspect, if we ever did find something to compare it to," Lt. Beiste speaks up.

"It all makes sense..." Santana softly states as she has an epiphany, "Ryder isn't the one that attacked Jake that night..."

"_Marley was_..." Brittany says, barely above a whisper.

"Lopez, Puckerman... it's time to end this," Schue says sternly. "If Lynn doesn't wanna talk still, then he can go down with his girlfriend."

"Sir... if I may speak freely?" The Latina interjects. Once she receives a nod from her supervisor, she continues. "I think you should let Brittany go in first. She already has a good rapport with Mr. Lynn, so I think he might be a little more susceptible to what she has to say before we blow his mind with the info we gathered from Marley."

Brittany looks at Santana stunned. She's not sure if she should be thanking her best friend or cursing her for putting her on the spot.

"Okay, fine... Brittany, you're up," Schue simply states.

As Brittany heads out of the room, the Latina lightly grabs her forearm. "Hey... you're gonna be fine," Santana softly says as she looks into the blonde's eyes. "You got this Britt... I'll be right behind you in a minute."

Brittany nods her head as she takes in the words of her best friend while trying her best to ignore the tingly feeling on her arm where the Latina has placed her hand. She looks at Santana's encouraging eyes one last time before disappearing from the room to re-join the Lynn subject.

"Did you find Marley?" Ryder quickly asks as soon as Brittany steps into the room.

"We sure did," the liaison replies flatly.

"Great... does that mean I can go?" Ryder asks hopefully.

"Not quite," the liaison shortly responds. "I thought you and I had an understanding, Mr. Lynn. How am I supposed to help you if you're not being 100% honest with me?"

"What are you talking about?" The young man questions. "I've told you everything I know."

"See, here's the problem... I don't believe you," Brittany retorts. "And before you go on and on about how you didn't hurt anyone or how you don't know anything, let's look at the evidence..."

As Brittany starts to spread multiple pieces of paper and photos across the desk, Ryder starts to get a little worried.

"You see this here?" Brittany states as she points to a piece of paper. "This is a receipt from the car wash you took your truck to in order to detail it, the day after Rachel Berry's death. And you see this picture here?" The liaison questions as she points to a particular photo. "That's you, cleaning out the bed of your truck."

"So what, I take good care of my truck," Ryder replies, unimpressed. "Since when is that a crime?"

"Well... I'd say since _now_," Brittany responds. "Our techs just went over your truck with a fine-tooth comb, and guess what they found?"

As the tension begins to build in the room, Ryder's demeanor has significantly changed as he breaks eye contact with the blonde.

"We found traces of Rachel's blood in the bed of your truck, Ryder... a girl that _you_ claim to not even know," Brittany bluffs. Ryder appears to be breathing heavily now.

"_We haven't even gone over his truck yet_," Finn whispers to Santana.

"_I know_..." Santana says smugly, proud of the way Brittany is handling herself.

"Ryder... that's not even the tip of the ice berg," Brittany continues. "This is a copy of your web history from where you looked up two of the drugs that were used to incapacitate our victims; that information was never released to the press. Furthermore, the baseball bat found in your apartment also had Rachel's blood on it."

"No... that's impossible!" Ryder exclaims as he violently rises from the table. "You guys are trying to set me up!"

"Now why would we want to do that, Ryder?" The liaison carefully questions. "What would I, my team, or anyone from his department possibly have to gain from setting you up?"

Ryder remains silent, contemplating his answer. His thoughts are so jumbled right now that he can't seem to think clearly.

"You know... there was someone else's blood found on that bat as well," Brittany slips in. Once Ryder looks back, giving the blonde his full attention, she proceeds. "Your buddy, Jake..."

"Jake... Jake _Puckerman_?" Ryder asks timidly as Brittany nods her head in confirmation. "What does that mean exactly?"

"It means that the person that hurt Rachel is the same person that attacked Jake," Brittany finally says.

"_No_..." Ryder whispers to himself, "… that can't be true."

"It is, Ryder... and I think you know who did it."

"I swear to you on my parents' grave that I did not hurt anybody," Ryder shakily responds.

"She's close... I can see the beads of sweat forming on his forehead," Puckerman states.

"_She was born to do this_," Santana says, mostly to herself but her partner catches it.

"Ryder, I wanna believe you... I _really_ want to believe you, but you gotta give me something to work with," Brittany pleads. "I don't think you hurt those girls or Jake, but you know who did. Are you really willing to protect them while you take the fall for this?"

Ryder breaks eye contact with the blonde again in favor of staring at the miscellaneous papers covering the table.

"I think you're up, Lopez..." Noah says as he nudges his partner.

Santana takes a tentative step as she exits the room. She had this whole plan worked out in her head about how she was gonna approach Ryder and ultimately get him to crack. But, as she enters the room and takes one look at young man sitting before her, she has a change of heart.

"Oh great, not you again..." Ryder mumbles under his breath.

"Relax... I come in peace," Santana states as she sits down across from the man, joining Brittany on her side of the table. The two of them exchange a small smile before she continues. "You know... I had this whole elaborate plan where I was gonna show you these photos and tell you what a sick fuck I think you are..." The Latina says as she begins to unveil photographs of the disturbing collage Ryder has above his bed at home. The man's face immediately reddens with embarrassment.

"I thought you said you came in peace?" Ryder says rhetorically, continuing to mumble under his breath.

"I was gonna tell you how I think your disturbing infatuation with Marley Rose led you to become this sick, murderous monster that sits before us, but... I'm not gonna do that," the profiler proceeds.

"It's not an infatuation... Marley and I love each other," Ryder says sternly, truly believing his own words.

"_Oh Ryder, Ryder, Ryder... when do we learn?_" Santana states patronizingly. "I truly believe that you love Marley and would probably do anything for her, _within reason_, but that girl... she doesn't care a thing about you."

"You're lying!" Ryder says with a little bark to his bite.

"Ryder, let me ask you something," Santana starts to say. "What do you and Marley actually do when you're together?

"I'm not gonna belittle my relationship with Marley by discussing intimate details with you," Ryder sternly replies.

"_Whoa_... I'm not asking for _personal_ details about your relationship, I just wanted to know about the general stuff," the Latina clarifies. "For example, do you guys hold hands... kiss... have sex?"

Again, something in Ryder's demeanor changes, almost as if profiler had hit a sore spot.

"Ryder, what is it?" Brittany softly asks.

"We sometimes hold hands, but that's about it," Ryder sadly replies. "She wants to take things slow, especially after having such an intense relationship with Jake. I respect that."

"Ryder, you're not gonna like what I'm about to tell you... but you need to hear it," Santana picks back up. "Marley is _not_ your girlfriend... she told me so herself."

"No... you're making that up," Ryder says confidently. "You're just trying to drive a wedge between us until one of us turns on the other. Well, you can find another sucker!" The man angrily yells as he brushes the papers and photos off of the table.

Brittany and Santana just look at each other, knowing what has to be done to finally bring the unaware young man to his senses.

"Mr. Lynn... are you familiar with the term _self-preservation?_" Santana inquires. Ryder just stares as the Latina with a look of utter hate and disdain. "Self-preservation is the protection of oneself from harm or destruction. It's a basic instinct that we're all born with."

"What's your point, _agent?_" Ryder simply asks.

"Marley knows all about looking after herself because that's exactly what she did when we asked her the same questions. She didn't bat an eye before she threw _you_ under the bus," Santana admits. As she sees Ryder continue to shake his head in disbelief, she decides that he'll have to learn the hard way. "I know you have no reason to believe anything that I tell you, but maybe you'll believe it if it comes from the horse's mouth."

As Ryder scrunches his eyebrows in confusion, Agent Lopez sets up her iPad on the table and opens a video file to play.

_"Miss Rose... what's your relationship with Ryder Lynn?" Agent Puckerman asks the brunette._

"What is this?" Ryder questions.

"Just watch," Santana quickly replies.

_"He's a friend and a co-worker," Marley says as she nonchalantly shrugs her shoulders. _

_"So... there's no __**romantic**__ relationship between the two of you?" Puckerman inquires further. _

_"With that loser... __**puh-lease**__," Marley scoffs at the idea. "That dude has been trying to get with me for like the past 2 years. It's like buddy... take the hint."_

"What?" Ryder says incredulously. "Why would she say that?"

Neither Santana nor Brittany respond as they continue to watch the video.

_"So you and Ryder are __**just**__ friends?" Santana asks for clarification. _

_"If you can even call it that," Marley says, unimpressed. "The dude is obsessed with me."_

_"How far do you think Ryder would go to impress you... to get you to notice him?" Puck questions. _

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Like... do you think Ryder would kill someone for you?" Santana speculates.  
_  
_"I... I don't know," Marley hesitantly replies. "He's always been really nice, but I guess you never know what people are truly capable of."_

"How can she even say that?" Ryder asks, still not believing what he's seeing and hearing. "Marley knows that I would never hurt her or anybody."

_"So... does that mean you believe me?" Marley asks the Latina hopefully. _

_"Yeah, I do... but unfortunately I'm the only one that thinks you're innocent," Santana sincerely states as she removes the brunette's handcuffs. "If only we had some solid proof to link Ryder to the murders..."_

Ryder continues to watch intently, wondering what lies will come out of the mouth of the girl he trusted more than anything.

_"What if I knew something that could help?" Marley cautiously says._

_"I'm listening..."_

_"Ryder once told me that his family died in a fire. He was supposed to be staying at a friend's house but he snuck out and went home. He told me that he saw the fire and heard his parents screaming, but he couldn't do anything to help them."_

"She's lying… I never went back to the house," Ryder interjects.

_"__**Okay**__... what does that have to do with anything?" Santana pushes._

_Marley takes a shaky breath, probably for dramatic effect. "He totally creeped me out when he told me that story."_

_"Creeped you out how?"  
_  
_"Like to the point where I thought that he actually set the fire and killed his parents," Marley replies as her lips tremble and her eyes start to water. "Ryder also used to play baseball. It wouldn't surprise me if he used one of his old bats to beat up Jake."_

Santana pauses the video after Marley's last statement.

"_That bitch_..." Ryder shakily states as a tear falls down his cheek. "She told me she loved me, but that was a lie... wasn't it. She's been playing me this whole time..."

"Got him..." Puck says as he watches on.

"I'm really sorry, Ryder... that's what we've been trying to tell you," Brittany says apologetically.

"I'll tell you whatever you wanna know," Ryder says, his voice void of emotion.

"Where were you the night Rachel Berry was murdered?" Santana questions.

"I was at home alone, like I told you before. But then, I got this phone call from Marley. She sounded frantic and _scared_... I could barely make out what she was saying," Ryder starts off. "When I got to her place, I saw Rachel lying on the ground. She wasn't moving, but I could tell that she was still breathing. I don't know what Marley hit her with, but I could see blood coming from the back of her head."

"What happened next?"

"Marley told me that they had gotten into an argument and she just hit her. It was an accident, but she was afraid that once Rachel woke up, she would go to the police and tell them what she'd done," Ryder continues. "I helped Marley get Rachel back to her apartment and put her in her bed. We even put a bottle of vodka and some aspirin on her nightstand so she would just think that she had a really bad hangover once she woke up. Rachel was alive when we left that apartment."

"Wait... _we?_ Are you saying that you and Marley left the apartment together?" Brittany inquires.

"Yeah... I dropped her off at home. That's why I was so freaked out the next day when I found out that Rachel had been killed," Ryder clarifies. "I panicked because I thought for sure that the police were going to end up arresting me just because I had seen her that night. But then Marley came over and made me feel better and just told me that everything was going to be okay."

"Ryder, is that when you and Marley became a _couple?_" Brittany hesitantly asks.

"Yeah... she's the one that told me to go clean my truck out."

"Marley must've went back to finish the job," Schue states knowingly. "Fabray... I want you to check any surveillance footage between Marley's apartment and Rachel's apartment from that night."

"You got it boss. Fabray out!"

"What about the night Tina was murdered?" Santana questions.

"I didn't see Marley that night after the show. In fact, she was supposed be hanging out with Tina but I guess she cancelled on her at the last minute," Ryder informs. "Marley called me on her way home and said she was just going to crash for the night."

"Ryder... didn't you think that it was a little weird that these women that died just so happened to be your girlfriend's main competition?" Brittany ponders.

"I just thought it was a coincidence, _honest_..." Ryder sincerely states. "Marley couldn't hurt a fly… or at least that's what I thought; clearly I don't know the girl at all."

"Did she ever say anything about Mercedes or Jake?"

"I know she was really upset when Jake broke up with her. I think it made her so mad that she didn't even want to star opposite of him in the play," Ryder continues. "She kept saying how she wished that I was her leading man. And a couple of weeks later, Jake was attacked..."

"What about Mercedes?"

"She wasn't thrilled about being canned..." Ryder starts off. "I think it pissed her off even more that she had to hear about it from one of the record label execs instead of Mercedes."

"So… Mercedes never got a chance to tell her about it?" Santana asks for clarification.

"No... not that I'm aware of," Ryder replies.

"_Sounds like a motive to me_," Finn says from behind the glass.

"Thank you, Ryder... we really appreciate your help," Santana says as she stands from the table.

"Agent Lopez... you gotta believe me," Ryder begins to say as his voice slightly breaks. "_I didn't know_... Sure, I had my suspicions, but I didn't want to believe that this girl that I'm absolutely crazy about could be capable of such horrific things."

"Hey, look at me Ryder..." Santana says to the troubled man. "No one faults you for being in love and wanting to see the best in that person. Just next time... try to pick someone who's less of a psycho."

Ryder lets out a strangled laugh at the Latina's joke. "Yes ma'am."

As Brittany and Santana leave the man behind, curiosity strikes the blonde. "What do you think is gonna happen to him?"

"We'll talk to the DA. Hopefully they'll drop the obstruction charge and hopefully they won't look into any accessory charges," Santana replies.

"So... he'll avoid jail time, but I think the damage has already been done," Brittany says regrettably.

"He's a smart kid..." Santana says as she takes one last look at the young man, "... he'll bounce back."

"You guys did a great job in there," Schue compliments the female duo.

"Thanks Will," the blonde and brunette say in unison.

"We just got off the phone with Quinn," Puck states. "She found video surveillance of Marley leaving her apartment approximately 20 minutes after Ryder dropped her off. There's also footage of her stopping at a gas station, filling up 2 containers with gas."

"We've got her ass!" Santana exclaims.

"Would you like to do the honors?" Noah asks, holding out a folder buxom with non-refutable evidence.

"Naw... you take it Puck," Santana uncharacteristically passes on the offer. "I think I'll just stay here and watch the show."

As Agent Puckerman comes face-to-face with their primary suspect again, the team watches on.

"Ah, _Miss Rose_... I'm afraid I have some bad news for you..." Noah coolly states. "You could really do yourself a solid here by telling us what really happened..."

"I already told you... I didn't do anything," Marley repeats in an exasperated tone.

"Look here, _woman_... I'm trying to save you from getting a needle put in your arm," Puck says, losing his patience with the snarky brunette. He then roughly throws the folder containing the newest evidence towards her. "But hey... if you wanna take your chances by standing in front of a group of your peers, then by all means... do it. I don't give a shit either way."

Marley slowly opens up the folder and begins to review the evidence stacked against her. After flipping through the first few pages, she calmly closes the folder and looks back up at Agent Puckerman.

"None of this would've happened if she just would've kept her big fucking mouth shut," Marley finally says.

"Now we're getting somewhere," Puck says as he takes a seat across from the brunette. "Start from the beginning..."

* * *

After spending a few hours with the brunette in the interrogation room, Agent Puckerman was able to ascertain a full confession from Marley Rose. In a very detailed account, Marley explained the events that led up to her taking the life of each of the victims.

Marley recalls the night that she invited Rachel over to her apartment after finishing one of their shows of _Wicked_, in which they starred opposite of each other. Being that Rachel had been the leading role in _Spring Awakening_ the previous year, Marley asked Rachel for some friendly advice, seeing that she was going to audition for that play after her role in _Wicked _was complete. What she wasn't expecting was for the Streisand wannabe to laugh in her face and tell her that she would never be more than just someone's understudy.

In a fit of rage, Marley picked up the closest thing she could get her hands on and struck Rachel in the back of the head. Unfortunately for Ryder, the object that she had picked up had been a baseball bat that had been left at her apartment after she and Ryder had gone to the batting cages one day. Unbeknownst to Ryder, Marley would use that same bat to attack Jake 3 months later, right after their break-up.

After that, everything that Ryder had told Santana and Brittany during his interrogation matched up to what Marley told Agent Puckerman next. Once she was dropped off at home, Marley knew that she had to go back to Rachel's and shut her up for good. And so, Marley left her apartment and headed back towards Rachel's. While en route, she passed by a man on the street lighting a cigarette. Noticing the flame, Marley was reminded of the story that Ryder had told her about his parents' death. This caused the brunette to stop at the gas station before getting to Rachel's place.

Once Marley entered Rachel's apartment, she found that the girl was still unconscious. Continuing to hear Rachel's insults from earlier playing through her head, she wrapped her hands around the other girl's neck and squeezed with all her might. At one point, Rachel regained consciousness, but was unable to to stop Marley from taking her last breath away. Not quite satisfied yet, Marley decided to take it upon herself and take away the greatest gift the lifeless girl had ever received… her _voice_. Marley then went into the kitchen and found the sharpest knife she could. She then proceeded to slice Rachel's throat open and removed her vocal chords. After that, she poured the gasoline all over the bedroom and lit a match, assuming that the fire would destroy all evidence.

With Tina Cohen-Chang, the brunette couldn't stand being second place to her. Marley felt that she deserved Tina's role much more than the Asian girl did. She felt that she had worked much harder for it to prove herself, but ultimately she was overlooked, just because the director was more familiar with Tina. That's when Marley decided to take matters into her own hands again.

One night, Tina invited Marley over for dinner. Unbeknownst to her though, it would be the last meal she would ever eat. As Tina excused herself from the table to use the restroom, Marley drugged Tina's drink with liquid GHB, which she had learned how to make using the internet at an internet café. Once Tina was unconscious, Marley used Tina's own knife to cut her throat and watched as the girl bled out. When she was sure that Tina was dead, she stuck the knife in the center of her throat and then set the room on fire.

And then there was Mercedes Jones… Marley's so-called idol.

Marley had never intended to cause any harm to the powerhouse that she considered a dear friend. However, once she was informed by Mercedes' record label that she had been fired from her songwriting job, she had to find someone to blame. If Mercedes would've just told her the bad news herself, then maybe she wouldn't have felt the need to punish her. Mercedes was supposed to be her mentor, yet she didn't have the decency to give her a heads up. For that… she had to die (at least in Marley's eyes).

And so, while Marley was hanging out at Mercedes' apartment, she seized the opportunity to strike once the woman had turned her back on the brunette. Marley then reached into her purse, pulled out a syringe filled with ketamine, and stabbed Mercedes in the back with it. Marley then turned Mercedes' body over as she towered over her and set her on fire. She watched Mercedes' pupils dilate as she felt her own skin burning all around her. With one last look into her eyes, Marley whispered _"you were my hero"_ before walking out of the apartment and leaving her former mentor there to burn alive.

As the rest of the team listened to Marley's account of events behind the other side of the glass, they cringed at each new grueling detail. Perhaps the worst part about this whole ordeal was that Miss Rose never showed any sign of remorse… not about the gruesome murders, not about crippling her ex-boyfriend, and definitely not about using and then ultimately setting up Ryder. Marley Rose _was_ the definition of a sociopath.

* * *

Just before midnight, the team is finally back on their private jet, heading back to Virginia.

"Is this seat taken?" Brittany shyly asks as she points to the vacant seat next to the Latina.

While the rest of the team members were either conversing amongst themselves or sitting near the group listening to music or reading a book, Santana was sitting towards the back of the jet, absentmindedly staring out of the window.

"No, not at all," Santana happily chirps.

"What are you doing back here, all by yourself?" The blonde questions.

"Nothing really… just thinking, I guess," the profiler replies.

"Oh… I'm sorry," Brittany apologizes as she rises from her seat. "I'll leave you too it."

Santana quickly reaches her hand out and gently wraps her fingers around the blonde's wrist. "_Stay_…" the Latina softly says as she releases her grip. "I want you to stay."

"_Okay_…" Brittany whispers as she sits back down next to her best friend.

The two women sit there in silence for a few seconds, not looking at each other, before someone finally breaks the ice.

"You were amazing today…" Santana bashfully says as she quickly looks at the blonde before turning away again.

"No…" Brittany says, slightly chuckling while waving her hand dismissively, "if anyone was amazing… it was you."

The profiler sighs deeply before looking back at the beautiful blonde. "Pierce, for the love of _Sweet Baby Jesus_… learn how to take a damn compliment."

Brittany opens her mouth to respond, but quickly closes it out of embarrassment. She can feel her cheeks begin to redden after being called out by the Latina. "_Sorry_…" she finally whispers out.

"Britt… you don't have to apologize," Santana states. "It's just… why is it so hard for you to take a compliment?"

The blonde takes a second to think about her answer before responding. "I guess I'm just not used to _getting_ compliments."

"Seriously?"

Brittany shrugs her shoulders. "Guys say lame things to me all the time," she starts off, causing the Latina to giggle, "… but it's different when it comes from you."

"_Oh_…" Santana says, her smile now gone. "Um… how so?"

"When a guy at a bar tells me that I'm _"hot"_ or that I'm _"too pretty to be drinking alone"_, I know that it's only because he wants to get into my pants," Brittany explains. "But, when you say things to me – _like telling me I'm beautiful_ – I actually believe you. You're always genuine and I know that you're not expecting anything in return; you're just being honest."

For the first time in 48 hours since Santana had revealed her feelings to Brittany, she found herself speechless. Don't get her wrong; Santana would _love_ to get inside of the blonde's pants… _someday_. However, she would love it even more if one day she got to call Brittany her _girlfriend_.

"Anyways… I was scared to death being in that interrogation room all by myself," Brittany says, changing the subject.

Santana finally breaks away from being stunned by the blonde's last statement. "Why were you scared? I mean, you speak to the press all of the time."

"I know, but it's different speaking to a camera and to a bunch of reporters that just want the latest scoop," the liaison replies. "Being inside that room though and trying to figure out what exactly to say or do to get inside that person's head to make them tell me what I want to know… _scary_."

"Well, for what it's worth… you seemed to handle it with ease," the profiler states.

"For what it's worth… I couldn't have done it without you," Brittany sincerely replies. "We make a great team."

Santana stares at the blonde for a moment, thinking about the hidden implications behind Brittany's statement. "Yeah… we sure do."

Both women share a bashful smile, thus ending their conversation. Brittany then leans her head to rest on Santana's shoulder as she closes her eyes for the remainder of their flight. Santana just smiles to herself as she leans her head against Brittany's and closes her eyes as well.

* * *

"Man… I cannot wait to get home," Puck yawns out as the team finally lands and makes their way through the parking garage.

"And just think… we get a _whole_ 24 hours to ourselves before we have to be right back here again," Santana says facetiously. The rest of the gang shares a laugh at her comment.

"Whatever _Lezpez_… you're just mad cuz you're going home _all alone_," the resident Casanova smugly replies.

"Um, last time I checked _Fuckerman_… so were you," the Latina bites back.

"Ooh… I like it when you get all _feisty_," Puck retorts, eliciting some hoots and hollers from the gang who were clearly enjoying their usual playful banter.

"In your dreams, _Noah_…" Santana cheekily responds.

"Trust me… you're already there," Puckerman replies with a playful wink. "Get some rest partner," he says as raises his fist towards the Latina.

"See ya Monday, _sucka_…" the brunette replies as she connects her fist with her partner's. "Goodnight guys," she says to the rest of the team as they make their way to their respective vehicles.

Just as Santana presses her key fob to unlock her red Audi RS 7, she hears Brittany calling her name from behind her.

"San, wait…"

"What's up Britt?" Santana ponders, seeing the flustered look on the blonde's face.

Brittany looks around the parking garage, watching as her co-workers leave the premises. She then turns back and sees Santana, waiting patiently for her response. Brittany then nervously tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "Uh… we never talked about what happened this morning…" As Santana stares at her blankly, she continues. "In the bathroom…"

Suddenly, recognition flashes across Santana's eyes as she recalls the events that left her body feeling like an inferno earlier on in the day. As she starts to feel her whole body heating up again from just the mere thought of sharing such an intimate moment with Brittany, she tries to casually respond. "W-what, uh… what about it? It was j-just an accident…"

"Maybe so, but…" Brittany softly says as she takes a step closer to the Latina and grabs her right hand, still covered with a Band-Aid from the slight burn she received earlier.

"But what?" Santana nervously asks as she feels the blonde's hot breath mixing with hers.

"I know that we've had a very long and exhausting day, but…" the liaison states as she takes another step closer. "I'd be lying if I said that I haven't been thinking about being back in that bathroom with you _all day long_…"

"_Really?_" The Latina croaks out as she tries to remove the lump from her throat.

"Yeah… _really_," Brittany assures as she laces their fingers together. "Honestly, San… I haven't been able to _stop_ thinking about you since you told me how you felt," she shyly says.

"Should I have just not said anything?" Santana wonders out loud.

"_No!_" Brittany quickly responds as she looks at the profiler's mocha eyes. "I'm glad you told me. I just don't know where to go from here."

"I'm not asking for anything…" Santana says barely above a whisper.

"I know… that's the funny thing about it," Brittany softly replies. "You haven't asked me for _anything_, and yet… I _want_ to give you _everything_."

"So… what does that mean exactly, Britt?" The Latina questions.

"Honestly… I'm not sure," the blonde replies. There's a moment of silence before both women burst out in laughter. "It sounded pretty good though, huh?"

"Yeah… something like that," Santana replies as her giggle fit eases up.

"I think I just need some time to figure all of this out," Brittany finally says. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah, Britt… that's fine," Santana assures. "Take all the time you need; I'll still be here."

Brittany nods her head in understanding as she releases Santana's hand in order to properly give the profiler a hug. Right before she breaks away from their warm embrace, she places a delicate kiss upon the Latina's upper cheek, allowing her lips to linger. "Goodnight, Santana…" she whispers into her ear before pulling away completely.

Santana is completely frozen in her spot for a solid minute before she regains any bodily functions. Looking around, she realizes that she's the only person that remains in the parking garage. Quickly, she unlocks her car again and actually gets in it this time. As she looks at her reflection in the rear view mirror, she can't stop herself from taking her hand and placing it on the area where Brittany's lips had just occupied.

"_I'm still alive, right?_" Santana thinks to herself, still not believing what had just taken place. Needing some form of reassurance, the Latina takes her forefinger and her thumb and then proceeds to pinch herself… _hard._ "_Fuck!_ That really hurt," she screams inside the safety of her car.

Santana then takes a second to close her eyes and relive that short moment of bliss, bringing a smile to her face. Once she opens her eyes, she starts up her Audi and makes the trek home, the smile never leaving her face.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this really long chapter. I initially toyed with the idea of splitting this into 2 chapters, but it seemed to make more sense as just one. Anyways, I hope that you all had a wonderful Labor Day. Thanks again for all of the reviews, favorites, and follows.

Stay classy,

-Kris

PS – For all of you that are waiting for an update for **3****rd**** & Lucky**… I haven't forgotten about that story. I've just been so intrigued by the Brittana/crime element of this story that I haven't been able to stop writing :)

* * *

**_*To the Guest that left a review in regards to feeling like the relationship between Santana and Brittany is "tepid", "middle-school" like, and "practically asexual":_**

_I'm sorry that you feel this way and have misinterpreted the relationship between their characters. For one, the first six chapters of this story take place within a 48 hour time period so I felt it would be a little too careless for Brittany and Santana to just hop in the sack right off the bat, especially while dealing with such a case. Secondly, the reason why the characters are moving at the pace they are and why they may react a little "childish" throughout their interactions is because I'm trying to show the tension that is building up. Brittany has just learned about Santana's feelings for her so she needs time to adjust and figure out how she feels and what she plans on doing with this new knowledge. And for Santana, the fact that Brittany is showing any sort of interest in her is something that she never expected (hence the reasoning for her acting like an excited school girl who's crush just told them they like them back). Also, Santana and Brittany have to consider the possible consequences that could take place if they were to embark in a romantic relationship (ie suspension and/or being re-assigned). Again, I'm sorry that you seem to be disappointed by the progression of Santana and Brittany's relationship, but I stand by my work (and apparently you're the only one who's dissatisfied)._ _Unfortunately, I can't please everyone. Thanks for taking the time to leave that comment though._


	7. My Own Worst Enemy

"_One of the greatest journeys in life is overcoming insecurity and learning to truly not give a shit." - J.A. Konrath_

* * *

Over the next month, Brittany and Santana had been spending a significant amount of time with each other outside of work. They enjoyed brunches and dinners together and even occasionally spent the night at each other's houses. They cuddled, held hands, and shared kisses on the cheek, but that was the extent of their physical relationship. They enjoyed long, deep conversations, but neither one of them dared to bring up what this closeness meant or tried to further define it... especially not Santana.

For Santana, she was just enjoying getting to know the blonde on a more intimate and personal level than ever before... even though it was subsequently driving her crazy.

But for the time being, the Latina couldn't focus on that when it was time to put her game face on. It was Monday, after all.

"What up, Lopez?" Puckerman says as he arrives in the bullpen, taking his seat across from his partner.

"Hey Puck," she replies back nonchalantly.

The profiler takes in his partner's tone and then begins looking around, assessing the situation. "How was your weekend?"

"Fine," Santana replies back in the same manner.

"You sure about that cuz you don't sound _fine_," Puck questions. "Did something happen with Brittany?"

"Sorry... I'm just a little cranky cuz I haven't been getting much sleep lately. Plus, I haven't had my morning coffee yet either," Santana says apologetically. "And to answer your question, no... absolutely nothing has happened with Britt."

"Oh, c'mon... that can't be true. I know you guys have been spending all of your off days together," Noah knowingly states. "Do you really expect me to believe that 2 smokin' hot girls hanging out all alone on the weekend have not done _anything?_"

All Santana can do is shrug her shoulders. "Don't get me wrong, it's been great getting to spend so much time with Britt but..," she pauses.

"But what?"

"It's also been like my very own personal hell," Santana continues. "Mostly, I've just been helping her prepare for the profiler's assessment. But... every time she touches me or is just near me, I start to lose it that much more. She's like the most beautiful torturer ever."

"Damn, San... you definitely got it bad," Puck comments. "But, you guys have always been touchy-feely. What's different now?"

"_Everything's_ different now..." Santana replies like it's the most obvious thing. When she sees the blank look on her partner's face, she elaborates. "It's different now because she knows." Again, there is no change on the man's face. "She _knows_... about my feelings?"

Once the look of recognition passes Puckerman's face, the Latina just shakes her head. For someone so smart when it comes to catching the sickest human beings, sometimes the Jewish man could be a little slow when it came to romantic entanglements.

"_Anyways_... because she knows how I feel now, all those simple touches and glances between us aren't just _friendly_ anymore," the female profiler continues. "They _mean_ something now... I just don't know what."

"Why don't you just make the move then?" Puck suggests.

"Because... I _can't_," Santana sighs dejectedly. "I already took a huge risk by telling her how I felt in the first place. I'm not gonna be stupid by forcing myself on her or putting any additional pressure on her, especially when our jobs are at stake."

"You know that Sylvester would never fire you guys, right?" Noah asks. "At most, you might get suspended or put on another team."

"Exactly... and that's one thing that I don't want to happen," Santana replies sternly. "If Brittany wants something to happen between us, then it's up to _her_ to make the next move… I've already made mine. I refuse to jeopardize our careers or separate this team just because of my stupid feelings."

"Okay, okay... relax Santana," Puck pleads, trying to calm the fiery Latina down. "I'm just worried about you, that's all. I know how much you care about Brittany; I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I know... and I appreciate it," Santana says more softly. "I'm just trying my best not to lose my sanity, but it's _so_ hard sometimes."

"I can only imagine," Puck sympathizes. "How've you been managing that anyways?"

"Like I do everything else... _compartmentalization_," the Latina says while pointing at her head.

"_Of course_," Noah says knowingly with a smile. "Just don't overload your brain too much, okay?"

"Yes, dear..." Santana sarcastically replies.

Puck playfully rolls his eyes in return. "Why don't you go get some coffee before you accidentally scratch someone's eyes out."

"By someone, do you mean _you?_" The Latina cattily questions.

"Well, duh... you know I only look out for número uno," Puckerman cockily retorts.

"_Of course_..." Santana says back as she shakes her head. "Your Spanish is horrendous, by the way," she adds in as she gets up and walks towards the kitchen area. Puck just smiles at her fleeting figure.

As Santana selects her coffee flavor from the multiple options, she places it into the Keurig machine. Once she adds the appropriate amount of water to the machine and picks out her favorite coffee mug - _a gift from Brittany, of course_ - that reads "The Price is Wrong, B*tch!"

While Santana waits her allotted minute for her coffee to brew, she doesn't notice the other person enter the kitchen.

"_Hey_..." the angelic voice of Brittany says from behind the profiler.

"_Hi_..." Santana responds back as she turns around to find bright blue eyes already staring at her. Like usual, the Latina's heart rate picks up as she tries her best to maintain her composure. "Can I make you a coffee?"

"Sure, thanks..." the blond says as she steps closer to the profiler.

Brittany then selects the flavor of coffee she wants and hands it to Santana, making sure that her hand lingers against the tan-skinned woman's for as long as possible. The Latina then disposes her used flavor refill and places Brittany's into the machine whilst grabbing another mug out of the pantry.

"So... you ready for the big assessment at the end of the week?" Santana asks. She knew that the liaison had been concerned about whether or not she had the chops to become a profiler, but Santana never doubted her for a second.

"I guess..." Brittany answers nervously as she breaks eye contact, in favor of looking at the ceramic tiles on the floor. "I just don't wanna end up looking like a complete fool if I don't get it."

"_Hey_..." Santana coos as she lifts the blonde's chin back up to look at her. "You're going to do great. Everyone on this team believes in you; _I_ believe in you."

Brittany's eyes briefly flicker down to the profiler's lips, causing the blonde to lightly bite her own bottom lip. "You should really stop saying things like that."

"Things like what... the truth?" Santana questions.

"No... things that make me wanna kiss you," the blonde replies without batting an eye.

The Latina momentarily loses her grip on the coffee mug, causing it to slip from her hand and crash into the ground. The sound of the impact slightly startles both agents and causes them to quickly create distance between them.

"Oh, shit... sorry," Santana apologizes as she bends down to pick up the broken pieces of the ceramic mug. "I'm such a klutz."

Before Brittany has a chance to respond, another voice floats into the room.

"Good morning to two of the hottest bitches in the building," Quinn happily - _and inappropriately_ - chirps. "Whoa, what happened here?"

"I had butterfingers for a split second," the brunette casually replies. "How ya doing, Q?"

"I'm fabulous, as always," the tech analyst simply replies. "How bout you lovely ladies? How was your weekend?"

"Fine," both agents reply in unison, quickly looking away from each other.

"_Riiight_..." the other blonde says curiously. "Well then... Santana, if you don't mind, I need to borrow your bestie for a few minutes.

"Yeah, sure..." Santana nonchalantly replies as she stands up and discards the broken coffee mug. "Here Britt… take this," she says as she hands the blonde her full cup of coffee.

"Thanks San... I'll see you later?" The liaison says questionably.

"Of course," the Latina replies with a small smile. "See ya Q."

As the eccentric blonde waves at the Latina, she and the liaison walk back to her lair.

* * *

"So... what's up Quinn?" Brittany asks once she takes a seat inside of the tech analyst's domain.

"I should be asking you that, missy..." Fabray cheekily retorts. When she receives a look of confusion from the blonde, she continues. "I _may_ or may not have heard a part of your conversation with that fine piece of ass that is Ms. Santana Lopez."

Brittany's eyebrows scrunch up further at how the other blonde refers to her best friend. "Why do you have to talk about her like that?" The blonde mumbles.

"Like what, Brittany?" Quinn challenges, trying to see how far she can push the liaison.

"Like she's a piece of meat..." Brittany responds. "You've been more vulgar with your adjectives lately, especially when it comes to San."

"What... you're a hot piece of ass too!" Fabray adds in before getting a pointed look from the blonde. "Look Britt, you know I don't mean anything by it, right?"

"I know... but it still bothers me," the blonde mumbles once again.

"And that's exactly the emotion I was hoping to elicit from you," Quinn says knowingly. A look of confusion is still plastered on Brittany's face. "You're really weird about receiving compliments, vulgar and _non_-vulgar."

"_Yeah_... San pointed that out recently as well."

"So, what's the problem?" Quinn asks curiously. "I mean... you're a very attractive and smart woman with a killer personality. Why is it that you feel so - _for a lack of better word_ - insecure about yourself?"

Brittany shrugs, taking a moment to ponder over her response. "I don't know... maybe because I was a late bloomer?" When she doesn't receive anything but an enthusiastic nod from the other blonde, she continues. "I was picked on a lot in high school and never got invited on any dates. Hell... I didn't lose my virginity until after I graduated college."

"_Dayum_ Britt... are you serious?!" Quinn asks incredulously.

"Unfortunately, yes..." Brittany sadly replies. "Anyways, once I finally did grow into my looks, I started to concentrate more on my career since my love life was practically non-existent. Studying Communications helped me to be more confident about how I presented myself and made me less anxious about talking to other people. Inadvertently, I started attracting some attention."

"So, what happened after that?"

"Nothing really... I dated a few guys, but nothing ever serious; nothing ever lasted more than a month or so," the liaison picks back up. "Even though I finally had guys that were interested in me, I still felt like that insecure ugly duckling who nobody really wants except for the occasional one night stand. I guess I still occasionally feel like that nowadays."

"So... what about this thing with Santana?" Quinn questions.

"She's the first person that makes me feel like I'm worth something," Brittany candidly replies. "That's why this whole situation sucks."

"How so?"

"Santana makes me feel things that I've never felt before... and we haven't even done anything yet," she continues. "She makes me want to cross the line so badly, but..." She trails off.

"You can't... because of the rules and stuff?"

"Exactly."

"So… what's the end game here?"

"I don't know..." Brittany says as she begins to lightly tap her head against a desk.

"Okay... let's stop doing _that_," Quinn says, effectively halting the blonde's movements. "There's a lot of expensive computer crap in here."

"Sorry."

"That's okay, sweetie," Fabray states sympathetically. "Anyways... if you're so conflicted about what the next step is with Santana then why have you been spending more time with her? I mean... isn't that just making it harder?"

"Yes and no..." Brittany cryptically replies. "It's hard to be around her because there's all of this sexual tension that we can't do anything about..."

"Well... _technically_ you can do something about it, but both of you are way too stubborn and by-the-book to actually do anything about it," the tech analyst chimes in until she receives a pointed look from the liaison. "I'm sorry... you we're saying?"

"_Anyways_..." Brittany says with an eye roll, "even though it's tough being around her with all of this tension, it feels even worse when I'm _not_ around her. It is literally driving me insane."

"Wow... that's pretty rough Britt," Quinn says, giving the other blonde a pat on the leg. "Just know that I love you both and whatever you decide to do with your pending relationship, I'll be here if you need someone to talk to."

"Thanks Quinn."

"Now see... don't you feel a little better now that you've lifted that huge boulder off your chest?" Fabray inquires.

"Yeah, I guess so," Brittany agrees. "Moving along though... what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Oh, right! I almost forgot," Quinn responds. "Schue just wanted me to touch bases with you in reference to cross-training for the liaison position."

"Oh, okay..."

"Don't worry... we can focus more on that _after_ you kick ass on that assessment and become an official profiler," Quinn says with a wink. Brittany smiles back in return.

_Knock... knock... knock..._

"Excuse me ladies," Puck says as he enters the lair. "Hola mamacita," he directs towards the tech analyst, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Hey there, Sweet Cheeks!" Quinn gleefully responds back. "What brings you down here to my cornucopia of knowledge?"

"Other than getting my daily dose of you," Noah flirts back, "I come bearing news; we have a case."

"Well, I guess we should head upstairs then," Brittany says as she stands up from her chair and makes her way to exit the room. "Sorry to break it to ya, but... your Spanish sucks. Stick to what you know," the liaison says as she pats the profiler's shoulder with a look of pity.

"Geez... you and Santana are some real ball busters," Puck pouts. "Just bash the guy that's trying to bring a little more Latin flavor to the group."

"Trust me... San's got _plenty_ of that," Brittany cheekily responds as she gets further away from the man.

"Yeah... you would know!" Noah retorts, yelling down the hallway. If he was unclear before of whether the blonde had heard his comeback, the bright shade of red her face turned as she disappeared from sight was a clear indicator. "I think I won that one."

"Yeah, I think you did," Quinn replies once she has the profiler's attention again. "So... any new updates from our resident Latina?"

"Pretty much the same as last week," Noah answers. "She did tell me that she wasn't gonna be the one to initiate anything physical between them. She wants to, but she's so worried about how that will affect the team."

"Yeah, I basically got the same story from Brittany," Quinn adds in. "I totally get their reservations, but I just can't help thinking how amazing they would be together. They both deserve it."

"I hear ya, but what can we do?" Puck poses the question. "Anyways, we have a case to get to. After you, milady…" he says in a terrible English accent whilst extending his arm for the blonde.

"Oh thank you, kind sir," Quinn plays along, looping her arm around the muscular profiler's as they exit her lair.

* * *

"There have been 4 murders over the past 2 months in Lima, OH," Schue begins as everyone gets situated inside of the conference room.

"The bodies of Kurt Hummel, Elliott Gilbert, Sebastian Smythe, and Blaine Anderson were all found in local parks throughout the Lima area; Anderson's being found earlier this morning by a jogger," Fabray fills in as she works the projection screen.

"This looks like a scene from Dexter," Santana says, commenting on how the lifeless bodies were wrapped in high quality plastic.

"Yes... each body was thoroughly cleaned with bleach before being wrapped with plastic and being transported to each individual dump site," Schue picks back up.

"You know what's interesting?" Dr. Abrams rhetorically states. "Lima has an unusually high crime rate for a city of its size, which is approximately 38,000 in population."

Everyone immediately stops scrolling through their iPads and just look at the boy genius.

"What?"

"Playing it a little fast and loose with the word _interesting_, don't ya think Artie?" Santana playfully states.

Artie just looks back at the Latina skeptically while the rest of the team tries to suppress their laughter.

"_Anyways_... moving on," Puckerman cuts in. "What was the cause of death?"

"The autopsy reports on the first 3 victims show asphyxiation by drowning," Schue answers. "We won't have the results of the latest victim until later on today, but based on the crime scene, it will most likely be the same."

"What do we know about the victims?" Brittany inquires.

"All of the victims except for the Gilbert subject were seniors at Dalton Academy, an all-boys school," Fabray begins. "Mr. Gilbert was only a few years older than the other 3 vics and worked as the assistant music director at the same school for their Glee club, The Warblers. Apparently the other vics were all members of the club as well."

"Okay... so all of the males have a connection to the school and obviously knew each other. Anything else significant?" Hudson questions.

"It says here that Hummel and Anderson - _victims 1 and 4_ - were an item up until a few weeks before Hummel's death 2 months ago," Santana says as she scrolls through the digital case file of the most recent victim on her iPad. "Quinn... do we know if the other 2 victims were gay?"

"Let's see..." the tech analyst says as she quickly works her magic on her laptop. "Yes, it appears that all of the victims were fans of the male anatomy."

"Perhaps the bleach on the body is a part of a cleansing ritual for the UnSub?" Artie suggests.

"Boy Wonder might be onto something here," Puck states. "Judging by how the bodies were positioned with the arms crossed over their chests before being wrapped in plastic could be suggesting a religious motive for the killings."

"Yeah… and maybe the significance of the drowning is to mimic a baptism," Brittany adds in, hesitantly.

"I think Brittany's right; the very definition of a baptism is to signify the cleansing of the body and the soul of sins," Santana says confidentially, shooting the blonde a subtle wink. Now it's everyone else's turn to stop and look at the Latina with a peculiar stare, Artie in particular. "That's right, _Abrams_... I know some stuff too."

The boy genius just smiles back at Santana, glad to know that his fun facts were starting to rub off on the group. The Latina smiles back at the young doctor as she scans the room and finds tiny smiles on the rest of the team's faces.

"Alright guys... once we arrive in Ohio, we're gonna hit the ground running. It will be best if we split up to cover more ground," Schue says, getting his team back on track at the task at hand. "Abrams... you'll meet up with the M.E. to get the autopsy report on our latest victim. Compare it to our others vics to make sure we don't have a copycat on our hands. Puckerman... you'll re-interview the first victim's family while Hudson does the same with our newest victim. Because they used to date, maybe we'll catch an early break and find someone that links to both of them. Brittany... you'll shadow Lopez and visit the most recent crime scene. I'll head to the station and set up the command post. Wheels up in 30."

Their fearless leader misses the priceless expressions plastered on the faces of Brittany, Santana, Puck, and Quinn as he walks towards the door.

"Um, Will... are you sure about this?" The liaison questions, appealing to the man beneath the profiler.

"Brittany... if you want to be a profiler then you're gonna have to spend more time out in the field. Santana - _or any other person you might be paired with_ - has to be able to depend on you as a reliable partner," Schue quickly explains. "You're ready, _Agent_ Pierce," he finishes with a rare smile.

"Yes, sir!"

As the rest of the team gathers up their belongings and makes their way to the parking garage to remove their go-bags from their respective vehicles, Puck hangs back and walks Quinn back to her lair of knowledge.

"You think Schue knows about Brittany and Santana?" Noah curiously inquires.

"I'm not sure. But really, what is there to tell? It's not like they've even done anything," Quinn responds.

"That's true. Still... that's gonna be like total torture for both of them," Puck comments.

"Yeah, probably. But who knows... maybe they'll finally get that push they need to cross that line and have their way with each other," Fabray seductively states, knowing that's what her hunky profiler arm candy was thinking as well.

"See... this is why you're my best friend; you totally get me!" Puckerman exclaims as he brings the blonde into a tight side hug.

* * *

_Meanwhile, back in the parking garage..._

As the rest of the team makes their way towards the SUVs that will transport them to the airfield where their private jet awaits, Brittany and Santana fall a few steps behind.

"Sorry you got stuck babysitting me," Brittany says apologetically.

"I'm not," Santana simply replies, causing the blonde's cheeks to heat up. "Schue's right... you gotta get used to being out in the field more."

"Oh, yeah... of course," the liaison says dejectedly, hoping there was another reason for the Latina's response.

Almost as if the brunette could hear her thoughts, she lightly grabs Brittany's wrist to halt her movements. "Besides, I don't mind being stuck with you... _ever_; even though being this close to you has been driving me slightly crazy lately," Santana honestly states.

"_Really?_ Me too..." Brittany replies back. "I don't know what I'm doing anymore, San. I know the smart thing to do would be to put some distance between us to remove this temptation, but... I just can't bring myself to do it."

"This is all my fault… I should've just kept my mouth shut," Santana sighs, starting to beat herself up again.

"No, San... that's not what I'm saying," Brittany interjects. "Like I said before, I'm glad you told me. You're the most honest person I know. I just didn't think all of this would be _so_ difficult."

"Okay, let's do this then..." Santana starts off, trying to calm the blonde down. "All of these feelings and whatnot... let's just put them on pause for the time being and focus on this case. After that, we can have an in-depth conversation about what to do next, whether it's to move forward and see what this could be," she says as she gestures between their bodies, "or if we should just act like nothing's changed and go back to how we used to be."

"You could really do that... pretend like you haven't told me all of these wonderful things and be content on just being friends/co-workers?" Brittany questions.

"Well… I've been doing it for the past few years so I think I can manage it," Santana quietly responds.

"You would do that for me? You would put your own feelings aside if I decided that I didn't want to pursue this?" The liaison asks more seriously, looking Santana directly in the eyes.

"Britt... I don't know if you've noticed, but..." the Latina pauses as she takes a step forward and tilts her head so that her lips lightly brush Brittany's ear lobe, "... I'd do anything for you," she says barely above a whisper.

As Santana leans back and puts a little bit of space between them, Brittany finally lets out the breath that she didn't know she was holding. All she can really think about at the moment is how the left side of her body is tingling from feeling Santana's hot breath on her ear.

Don't get her wrong; Brittany definitely appreciated how considerate the Latina was being to put her own feelings aside to accommodate her, but damn... Santana sure had a way of making her insides jump and turn her brain into mush when she was being all sincere and crap.

"We should catch up to the others," Santana casually states as she resumes her steps again.

Brittany, on the other hand, took an extra moment to gather herself before catching up to the Latina. By taking that extra time though, she definitely missed the subtle smirk that appeared on Santana's face as she walked away, knowing that she must've struck a nerve from the blonde's lack of response. Although she always seemed to become this vulnerable mess when it came to Brittany, the Latina still knew how to use her God-given sex appeal to make the other girl squirm.

Perhaps this was just payback from how Brittany had left her all hot and bothered the last time they were left alone in the parking garage. Either way, this next case was sure to be interesting as both women tried to suppress their personal feelings and focus solely on the case.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Hey guys! Here is the next installment. I tried to give you guys a little more insight on Brittany's character and why she's been kinda reserved and a little confused about what she should do in terms of her relationship with Santana. Thanks to everyone who is still reading this story and have been very patient with the development of the Brittana relationship. I know it's a bit slower than in how it normally is in my other stories, but it's for the sake of trying to develop the plot of the storyline as they work these cases whilst trying to incorporate the other characters and the crime element. It's a lot harder than I originally thought, trying to write a love story inside of a crime drama. Again, thanks for baring with me. You guys are truly awesome and inspire me to keep writing.

Until next time,  
- Kris

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own CBS, Fox, or any of the characters from Criminal Minds or Glee (otherwise Prentiss would still be a part of the team and Brittany and Santana would have their very own show).

That is all.


	8. Building Blocks

"_Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."_ – _Bernard M. Baruch_

* * *

Once the team touches down in Lima, they waste no time traveling to their respective destinations. As Santana drives and Brittany sits shotgun, she can't help but notice the anxious look covering the blonde's features.

"You okay?" The profiler softly asks.

"Yeah... I'm fine," Brittany replies back, not convincingly at all. As she continues to stare aimlessly out of the window, her fingers absent-mindedly pick at the imaginary lint on her pants.

"Call me crazy, but for some reason... I don't believe you," the Latina retorts. From the corner of her eye, she can see the small smile that appeared on the liaison's face; however, just as quickly, that smile disappears. "Talk to me Britt."

"I guess I'm just nervous..." she vaguely states. "These people are looking to us for help and I just don't wanna look like an incompetent imbecile by following you around or not knowing the answer to a question they might ask me."

As Santana listens to how insecure and unsure Brittany seems of herself, she feels her heart break a little.

"Britt..." Santana says softly as she removes her right hand from the steering wheel and places it on top of the blonde's fidgety hands. "I can assure you that none of those things will happen."

"How can you be so sure?" The profiler-in-training questions, not totally believing the Latina.

"Because you've been surrounded by profilers for the last few years so you've already gotten a head start when it comes to specific things that we look for that are relevant to whatever case we're working," she answers assertively. "Plus, you've got me... and I would never let anything bad happen to you."

Santana then lightly squeezes Brittany's hand before retracting her own. However, before she is able to pull away, the blonde laces her fingers with the Latina's. Santana briefly takes her eyes off of the road to look down at the mixture of caramel and milky white. She then looks at Brittany and sees a shy smile reflecting from the other woman's face. Santana returns the smile before reluctantly looking back at the road, still enjoying the feeling of her hand being connected to Brittany's.

"Thanks San."

"Anytime."

* * *

Once Santana and Brittany arrive at Johnny Appleseed Metropolitan Park, they immediately survey the area. Prior to their arrival, the latest victim's body had already been photographed and transported to the M.E.'s office for further processing.

"Hey there... you must be the guys from the FBI?" A blonde lady with a sharp gray pantsuit says as she approaches the two agents. Once she sees both of the women nod their heads, she extends her hand to greet them. "I'm Detective Holliday... thanks for getting here so quickly."

"That's no problem at all, ma'am," Santana says as she shakes the detective's hand. Brittany immediately follows suit. "I'm Agent Lopez and this is Agent Pierce. What do we got?"

"I'm sure you and your team have already reviewed the case file so I won't _bore_ you with redundant info," the older blonde replies. "The vic's body was dropped off here around 6:30 this morning. A jogger…" she pauses as she flips through her notebook, "_Sugar Motta_, was the one that found him. She's right over there with the officer."

"Her name is Sugar?" Brittany questions skeptically.

"Yeah… I know right?!" Det. Holliday exclaims. "I didn't believe her at first when she told me, but I checked her driver's license and it's legit. Anyways, my team has been canvasing the area to see if anyone else may have seen anything or can provide a direction of travel for the prep's vehicle. We're also checking with the staff here to see if there are any cameras set up in the park."

"Alrighty… keep us posted," Santana responds. "We're gonna go speak with the witness and see if she can provide any further details."

"Sure thing, _sweet cheeks_," the detective responds as she looks back at the two agents and shoots them a flirty wink. "By the way… don't call me ma'am; I'm _way_ too young and fine for that title. Call me Holly," the older blonde says as she walks away, leaving both women stunned.

"Well… she's _different_," the Latina says after deciding on the appropriate word to describe the detective.

"I was gonna say _eccentric_, but yeah... _different_ definitely works to," Brittany giggles in response.

"Anyways, let's get back to business," Santana says, her voice becoming more serious. "I want you to lead the interview." The liaison's eyes suddenly widen at the news. "Don't panic, okay? You can do this… I've _seen_ you do this. I'll be right there to help out… _if_ you need it."

This seems to calm the blonde's nerves. Brittany silently nods her head in understanding before they both make their ways towards the witness.

"Miss Motta?" Brittany questions, waiting for the young brunette to nod in confirmation. Once she does, she continues. "I'm Agent Pierce and this is Agent Lopez. We're with the FBI and we'd like to ask you a few questions.

"Sure… go ahead," Sugar replies.

"Walk us through what happened earlier this morning."

"Well… usually around 6 every morning, I come here and run for about an hour before going home, showering, and heading to class," Sugar begins.

"What school do you go to?"

"Ohio State… there's a campus about 5 minutes away from here."

"What are you studying?" Brittany asks, building a rapport with the younger female.

"Journalism."

"That's cool," the blonde responds, showing an interest in brunette. "So… what was different about this morning?"

"Well… when I got to this side of the park, I was about to turn around and head back towards my car when I saw him," Sugar says, picking back up where she left off.

"What did you see exactly?" Brittany asks for clarification.

"There was a guy dressed in all black, kneeling down by the tree. At first I thought he was praying or something," she continues. "Anyways, I guess I must've stepped on a twig or something cuz the guy jerked his head back and looked at me."

"Could you see his face at all?"

"No… the sun hadn't come up yet so it was still pretty dark out here," Sugar responds. "Plus, he was wearing a hat so that just casted an even bigger shadow over his face."

"How could you tell it was a guy?" Santana inquires.

"I could just tell by his size. He was tall and a bit stocky… kinda reminded me of a linebacker or something," Sugar says as an afterthought. "Anyways, before I knew what was happening, the guy took off towards the parking lot. It wasn't until after he was a decent distance away that I noticed something leaning against the tree. As I got closer, I realized that it was a body wrapped in plastic."

"What happened after that?"

"I looked back towards the direction where I had seen the man running. That's when I saw the taillights of a van speeding away," Sugar says. "I couldn't see a tag cuz it was too far away, but the van looked like it could've been black or maybe a navy color."

"Did you see any other vehicles in the parking lot or notice anyone else in the park?" Brittany ask.

"Nope… just him and that van," Sugar replies. "I'm here around the same time every day and there's usually no one else here… that's why I come here at this time so I can be alone and just enjoy the view."

"Where's your vehicle at?" Santana questions.

"It's at the parking lot near the West entrance of the park," the brunette states. "During this time of morning, the West entrance is the only one that's open until the staff members get here around 9. I'm sorry that I couldn't be more help," she says apologetically.

"Don't be silly; you've given us a lot of good information that we can work with," Brittany assures. "Thanks for your time. We'll get an officer to give you a ride back to your car."

"Nah… don't worry about it; I'm a runner, after all," Sugar replies with a small smile. "I hope you catch the sick bastard."

"Yeah, me too…"

As Sugar takes off in the opposite direction, Santana looks back at Brittany with a proud smile on her face. "I told you that you were a natural at this."

"I didn't do anything special," the blonde responds, waving off the Latina's compliment.

"If you say so…" Santana says back with a playful eye roll. "So… what did we learn?"

"These dump sites are random," Brittany simply replies.

"Why do you say that?"

"If this place had any significance to him, the UnSub would've done his homework before dumping a body here," the liaison begins. "There's no way that he would've been careless enough to dump Anderson's body here, knowing that he could possibly be caught by someone who's here at the park running, every day at the same time."

"I agree."

"We need to check all of gates for every entrance of this park," the blonde suddenly says.

"Why? Sugar already told us that the West gate is the only entrance that's open during the early morning hours."

"I know… but who's to say the UnSub left the same way he came in?" Brittany states rhetorically. Santana doesn't say anything, in favor of letting the blonde continue. "If I'm the UnSub and I've just been caught red-handed dumping a body, I'm gonna be in panic-mode. I'm gonna be so frantic and looking for the closest exit, even if I have to make one myself."

"We need to get the techs to check the West parking lot for any possible tire tread marks or anything else the UnSub may have left behind. We'll also get them to check all of the gates for recent damage," Santana says once the blonde is finished. "Great assessment, Britt…"

"Thanks San…"

"I told ya… _natural_," the Latina says as she winks at the liaison. "C'mon… let's go see what the rest of team found."

* * *

After a few hours out in the field, all of the team members arrive back at the Lima Police station.

"Alright, what did you guys find out?" Schue asks.

"Based on the preliminary autopsy report, Anderson's COD was asphyxiation by drowning… just like the other vics," Dr. Abrams starts off. "The diatoms found in his system matched the ones found in victims 2 and 3. His body was also scrubbed with bleach."

"Diatoms?" Det. Holliday questions with a confused expression.

"Diatoms are a major group of algae. They're commonly used in studies of water quality," Artie explains. "Diatoms are unique to the specific body of water that the sample has come from."

"So… do we have a location from where the samples found in the last 3 vics were taken from?" Puck inquires.

"Yes… they came from the Lost Creek Reservoir," Abrams replies as he marks a spot on the map hanging up in the room that they are currently in. "All of the dump sites for victims 2-4 are within a 5 mile radius of the reservoir. Dalton Academy also falls within that radius."

"Okay… so it's highly likely that the UnSub either works and/or lives within those parameters," Santana states. "What's his connection to the vics though?"

"Actually, before we get into that… do we know where the first victim was drowned at?" Brittany politely interrupts. "There's gotta be a reason why he was killed somewhere else and why his body was dumped so far away from the others."

"Britt's right… I think Hummel is the key to identifying our UnSub," Santana adds in. "Artie… was there any other significant differences between the first vic and the others?"

"Actually, yes…" Dr. Abrams picks back up. "Hummel was the only one that showed signs of sexual contact before he died. No DNA though; his partner used a condom."

"Do we know who Hummel was with the night before he died?" Schue questions.

"No… according to Mr. Hummel, Kurt had already left the house before he got home from work," Puck answers. "He said that Kurt had left him a note saying that he was going out, but didn't specify where or with whom? When Kurt didn't come home the following morning, he called the police."

"How had Hummel's behavior been since his break-up Anderson?" Santana inquires.

"Terrible… his dad said that he was constantly depressed and sad. He even thought that he may have been drinking whenever he did leave the house," Noah picks back up. "What probably made it even worse was that he was constantly surrounded by his ex and the guy that he cheated on him with."

"Who did Anderson cheat on him with?" Brittany pushes.

"Sebastian Smythe… the third victim," Puck clarifies.

"Damn… that's pretty harsh," Finn chimes in. "I talked to Anderson's parents. They said that Blaine had been heartbroken since the break-up. According to what Blaine told them, the hook-up with Smythe was only a one-time thing and he immediately regretted it. He tried to get Kurt to forgive him, but no dice. They have no idea where he went last night or who he may have been with."

"So… we have a possible love triangle," Schue says. "We need to find out who else may have been affected by this break-up. Lopez and Pierce… what did you learn?"

Santana gives a subtle nod to Brittany, urging her to take the lead.

"From the witness, we know that the UnSub is a male – _probably Caucasian_ – and is roughly around 6'0'' and 220 lbs," Brittany answers with confidence. "More than likely, he'll be in his late teens or early 20's. He was also was seen fleeing the scene in a dark-colored van."

"We checked with each of the parks, but none of them have surveillance footage," Santana adds in. "However, we did find damage to the gate located at the East entrance of the latest dump site. We found broken pieces of a shattered headlight, which probably came from the UnSub's vehicle since he was in a hurry to leave."

"Let's get Fabray on the horn," Schue states sternly.

As usual, Puck is the first one to pull up the FaceTime app on his iPad and call the master of knowledge. "Hey Baby Girl, you're on speakerphone," he warns before the blonde can say something inappropriate.

"Hey _Sweet Thing_…" Quinn replies back with great restraint, "whatcha got?"

"Fabray… I need you to check all of the surveillance videos near the area of latest dump site," Schue informs.

"Okay… what am I looking for sir?"

"Q… we're looking for a dark-colored van leaving the area of the East entrance of the park," Brittany clarifies. "The van should have front end damage, specifically a broken headlight on the driver's side."

"You got it, _hottie_! What else?"

"Fabray… can you compile a list of the local bodies of water near the Cairo Recreational Department where the first victim was found," Artie says. "Once you get that list, forward it to Det. Holliday so that her guys can go get samples and hopefully find a match for the first kill site."

"Who's Det. Holliday?" the oracle of wisdom questions.

"That'll be me, _Sweet Cheeks_!" Holly says as she comes into the frame and waves at the other blonde."

"_Ooh_… eye candy in Lima," Quinn cheekily replies. "You should have that list now."

"_Wow_... she's good," the detective replies as she checks her phone, seeing that she had just received an email from the FBI. "I like her… I'll go give this info to my guys," she says as she leaves the room.

As Schue shakes his head at the antics of his tech analyst and the fleeting blonde, the rest of the team try their best to suppress their laughter.

"Anyways… is there anything else I can do for you fine ladies and gents?"

"Fabray… check all of the staff at Dalton Academy and see if any of them have a dark-colored van registered to them."

"That will take a little time, but I'm on it."

As Santana sorts through all of the information in her head, she has an epiphany. "Q… can you check if there are any local gay bars in the area?"

"Sure thing, just give me a minute."

"What are you thinking?" Puck curiously asks.

"All of our victims were gay, right?" Santana states rhetorically, receiving several head nods from her peers. "Maybe our UnSub was too; however, maybe he wasn't as out and proud as the victims were."

"That makes sense," Brittany agrees. "Growing up in a small town like this, they're probably aren't too many openly gay people around."

"But… if there was a place where a gay person could go and feel completely free to be themselves," Santana continues, "then they might visit there frequently. It might be the place where the UnSub came in contact with all of the vics."

"Damn… I love it when that sexy Latina gets her brain juices flowing," Quinn interrupts. "Santana's right… there is one gay bar in Lima called _Scandals_. It's located off of W North St. And according to photos posted on their Facebook pages, each of the vics have been there before."

"Okay… Lopez and Pierce, you go visit the bar and see what you can come up with," Schue states. "Puckerman… let's bring Hummel's father down here. I have a few follow-up questions for him."

"Alright guys, I'm gonna work on that surveillance footage and employee records. I'll let you know when I find something. Fabray out!"

"Hey Will… I think I should go to the bar by myself," Santana suggests. Brittany looks at here with a questioning look. "No offense, Britt… I just think that the patrons there might be a little more open to talking to just me since I can relate to them."

"Hot, foreign, and a lesbian… you're like the total package," Holly casually says as she steps back into the room. "Lopez is right though. After the first 2 murders, I went to that bar to gather some information but everyone was very tight-lipped. The patrons there didn't see me as Cool Hot Blonde that was trying to help discover who had hurt their friends. Instead, they saw Detective Holliday, reporting for duty," she says with a little salute.

"Okay then… Lopez you'll go inside the bar alone and talk to the people; Puck, I want you to tag along, but stay outside, just in case something happens. Pierce and Hudson, got to Dalton Academy and talk to the staff and any student that was close to the victims. Abrams, work on a geographical profile," Schue firmly states.

"Yes, sir!" The replies back in unison.

* * *

As the members of the team separate to go towards their next assignment, Brittany pulls Santana off to the side.

"Hey… did I do something wrong?" The blonde questions.

"No, Britt… why would you think that?" The profiler answers back, feeling a bit confused.

"It's just… I thought we worked really well together, but now it seems like you're trying to get rid of me," Brittany quietly states as she looks towards the ground.

"Brittany… that's not it at all," Santana assures, linking her pinky with the blonde's. "I loved working with you today and seeing you in action. I just think that this particular assignment would be best if I completed it alone."

"Okay…" Brittany responds, but still has a kicked puppy expression on her face.

"Let me try to explain this…" the Latina begins. "Living in a small town like this, I'm sure being gay – _no matter if you're open about it or not_ – is an extremely difficult thing to do. People are so small-minded here, which makes it even more difficult for a gay person to divulge any information freely to a straight person because they're not sure who they can trust. Trust me… I know the feeling," she says the last part softly, looking away from the blonde.

"I guess I've never really thought about it like that. It makes sense though."

"My mom's cool with it now, but when I first came out… she nearly lost her shit," Santana continues. "Instead of thinking about how this was affecting me, she was more focused on how she was gonna bounce back from the future front page headline of _'__**The Ambassador's daughter… GAY!'**_"

"Wow… I've only met your mom once, but it seemed like you guys had a great relationship," Brittany ponders.

"We do now, but that wasn't always the case," the profiler responds. "It took a few years to get to the place we are now so I'm not complaining. I'm just glad that I can say with total confidence that my mom is truly cool with me being gay and not one of those fake politicians that pretend to love me in front of the cameras, but then secretly hates me in private."

"Well… I'm glad things worked out," Brittany says shyly. "You're kinda hard _not_ to love."

Santana doesn't know how to respond to the blonde's last comment, so she doesn't. She just looks back into her eyes with an intensity that she can't control.

"You should probably go… Puck's waiting for you," Brittany says as she quickly scans their surroundings. Once she sees that no one's paying attention to them, slowly leans forward and places a sweet kiss to Santana's cheek. "I'll see you later."

"Okay…" Santana says back as she lightly squeezes Brittany's pinky before releasing it and walking away. Before the blonde is completely out of her eye sight, she looks over her shoulder and winks back at her.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Hey guys! Sorry for the long delay. I've been racking my brain trying to figure exactly how I wanted to write this chapter. I also did some research so that a majority of the places mentioned in this story are actual places. Again, I'm extremely sorry for the hold up, but thank you to everyone that is still invested in this story. I'll try to have the next chapter out a lot sooner. I also need to update _**3**__**rd**__** & Lucky**_… ahhh! There's just not enough time in the world lol. Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed!

-Kris


	9. Take One For the Team

"_You can be the moon and still be jealous of the stars.__" – __Gary Allan_

* * *

_**A few hours later…**_

After learning that the bartender at _Scandals_ whom worked the previous night was scheduled to work tonight as well, Santana decided to wait until later that evening to visit the bar. As they had discussed earlier, Santana went inside the establishment alone, leaving Puck to wait impatiently inside of the car. In hopes of not attracting too much attention to herself, the Latina opted to wear her ankle holster and hid her credentials in her purse.

Once Santana entered the building, she casually made her way towards the bar.

"Hey there, _gorgeous_…" an attractive brunette greets from behind the bar. "What can I get ya?"

From the tone of the bartender's voice, Santana could tell that the lady was trying a little too hard to be sexy. Usually, women that came off more desperate than flirty repulsed her. However, since she was trying to gather information without flashing her badge, Santana decided to play along.

"I don't know…" the Latina pauses to read the barkeep's name tag, "_Dani_… what do you suggest?"

"Well… you look like a fiery Latina, so maybe a shot of Fireball?" Dani suggests.

"I will if you do it with me," Santana says back in a flirty tone. Usually drinking on the job was frown upon, but the profiler could handle her alcohol and knew that one little shot of cinnamon whiskey wouldn't affect her at all.

"Alrighty… you've got yourself a deal," Dani replies as she pulls out 2 shot glasses and fills them up with the appropriate amount of liqueur. She then hands one to Santana and lifts her own to clink against the other woman's. "Cheers!"

After letting the liquid slide down her throat, Santana sets down her glass in favor of taking a few sips from the glass of water in front of her.

"So… I haven't seen you before. You new in town?" The brunette questions, continuing to flirt. "I would've definitely remembered a face like yours."

"Is that right?" Santana counters back.

"Most definitely..." the bartender replies. "I'm here mostly every night so you definitely would've been on my radar if you had been here before."

"_Hmm_... I bet you say that to all the pretty girls," Santana coyly responds. "Either that or you're just angling for a better tip."

"Maybe a little bit of both..." Dani says with wink. "What's your name gorgeous?"

"Santana..." she answers. "Do you get many people my age in here? I see a lot of younger folks in here, especially for a school night."

"Yeah... it's mostly the younger crowd. In a small town like this, there aren't too many out and proud adults," Dani explains.

"I can understand that," Santana responds. "I've been watching the news lately; it's such a tragedy... those guys were just kids. Did you know any of them?"

"Nope..." Dani says, a little too quickly for Santana's liking.

"Really? I imagine this place would be the local hangout for young gay men."

"Yeah, you would think..." Dani replies back with a hint of condescension.

Sensing that the little flirting game was no longer going to get the answers she was looking for, Santana decides to take a more direct approach.

"Look, Dani... you seem like a really sweet girl," the profiler begins, "but I think we both know that you're lying."

"Yeah, well... that makes two of us," Dani cattily fires back. "Let me guess... cop, right?"

"_Federal Agent_, actually..." Santana corrects, reaching into her purse and quickly flashing her credentials. "What gave me away?"

"No one as gorgeous as you would willingly move to this small ass hick town," Dani begins, causing the Latina to giggle. "Plus, just the way you carry yourself and how you've been guzzling down that glass of water after you took that _one_ little shot kinda gave you away."

"Fair enough," the agent concedes. "So, do you think you can help me out? I just have a few questions."

"I wanna help, I really do... but I don't wanna risk the privacy of our patrons," the brunette states.

Santana sighs exasperatedly. She was hoping that this would be a quick and easy exchange of information, but the cute bartender is making things more difficult for her.

"Okay... let me come at this from another angle," Santana says more sternly. "Right now, you're hindering a federal investigation. That's something that we like to call _Obstruction_, which is punishable by up to 5 years in prison. I know that _**Orange is the New Black**_ is like the new _**Grey's Anatomy**_, but trust me... you do _not_ want to spend time in a federal prison."

Dani seems to be in deep thought, contemplating whether she should stop being so damn stubborn already.

"Dani... I know that this bar probably means a lot to you. A few years ago, you were probably just like these other kids... scared and alone, just looking for a place where you belonged; a place where you could just be yourself," Santana says, trying to sympathize with the brunette. "I wish I would've had a place like this when I was that age... that's why I would hate to see a good place like this get shut down because you refused to cooperate."

After a pregnant pause, Dani finally opens her mouth to say something. "I was right about you... you are _feisty_," she states knowingly. "What do you wanna know?"

"Was Blaine Anderson here last night?" Santana inquires, pulling out her phone and showing the bartender a photo of the latest victim.

"Yeah... he was here, but I knew him as _Cooper_," Dani says. "At least, that's what his ID said."

"He has an older brother named Cooper, so that makes sense," the Latina replies, causing the brunette to scrunch up her eyebrows. "It's a lot easier to use your sibling's ID to pass as 21 as opposed to making a fake ID." Once a look of recognition appears on Dani's face, she continues. "Did you see him leave with anybody?"

"Not that I can recall," Dani replies. "I did see him talking to Dave though, earlier on."

"Who's Dave?"

"He's one of our regulars."

"Do you happen to know his last name?" Dani shakes her head no. "Okay then... could you maybe describe him?"

"Sure... he's probably like 6'1'' or 6'2'' and between 220-230 lbs," the bartender replies. "Oh! He always wears this ratty old baseball cap too."

"What kind of hat?"

"I think it's supposed to be black, but it's kinda faded now," Dani explains. "And then, it has a red and white logo on the front. It's like a warrior wearing one of those Trojan helmets."

"Is that symbol specific to a company or maybe a school around this area?" Santana questions.

"Yeah... it's the symbol for McKinley High. Their mascot is a Titan… although it looks more like a Spartan to me," Dani replies. "I went to Carmel High; the Titans were our rivals."

"Did Dave ever talk about going to school there or possibly where he worked?"

"Not really... he was more of a private person. He usually just comes here, has a couple of drinks, and then leaves," the brunette states. "I don't know if he knew the other victims personally, but I've seen him talk to the others once or twice before."

"Now see, Dani... was that so hard?" Santana rhetorically states.

"I guess not," Dani replies bashfully.

"If you think of anything else or if you happen to see Dave, please give us a call," Santana says, handing the bartender her business card.

"Does this have your _personal_ cell phone number on here?" Dani asks in a hopeful tone.

"No... it doesn't," the Latina responds flatly. She wanted to make it clear that she was strictly here on business.

"You're no fun," Dani teases.

"Sorry... I'm just here to do my job and catch this sick son of a bitch," Santana replies.

"Well, look..." Dani begins as she scribbles something onto a napkin. "I don't know how long you'll be in town for, but after you catch this maniac… maybe you'd like to relax and have a little fun," she says in a dangerously low, seductive tone while slipping the napkin containing her phone number into Santana's hand. "Just think about it."

Before Santana even has a chance to respond, Dani walks towards the other end of the bar to help out another patron. The Latina stows the napkin away in her pocket before reaching into her purse and grabbing a 20 dollar bill to pay for her drink and tip. She then exits the bar and hops into the SUV where Puck awaits.

"So... did you get anything good?" Noah inquires.

"Yeah... I got a lead on a possible suspect," Santana begins, "and the bartender gave me her number."

"No shit!" Puck says excitedly. "So... you thinkin' bout tappin' that?"

"Do you _hear_ the words you say when they come out of your mouth?" The Latina asks rhetorically. "I mean, _seriously_... who talks like that?"

"So sue me for being crude," her partner replies. "Seriously though, is that something you might be interested in? You are _single_, Santana..." he reminds, "and who knows if anything will ever happen with Brittany."

"Look Noah... I really don't want to get into my lack of love life right now," Santana says dejectedly, wanting nothing more than to just change the subject. "Can you please just drive us back to the precinct?"

"Sure thing," the male says as he backs out of the parking space and heads back to where the rest of their team awaits. "You think Britt will be jealous?"

"How should I know?"

"_Hmm_... this could get interesting," Puck says back mischievously.

"I don't even want to know what's calculating in that little pea brain of yours right now," the Latina says dismissively.

"You're right... you probably don't," the Jewish man chuckles in response.

* * *

Once Puck and Santana arrive back at the precinct, they join the rest of their team in the conference room.

"Okay… Lopez and Puckerman just got back," Schue says, addressing the room and the tech analyst who was currently video chatting with them. "Fabray go!"

"Alright, my lovelies… here's what I found," Quinn begins. "Based on the interviews that Brittany and Finn conducted and checking into employee records, there's no staff member or student that drives a van like the one we're looking for."

"What about the staff members at _Scandals_?" Puck inquires.

"I thought you might ask that so I already looked into that. Sorry sweetness... no dice."

"Dammit!" Noah responds. "If it's not someone from the school or the bar, then who could it be?"

"Just because we didn't find a match on the van doesn't necessarily mean that our UnSub isn't associated with one of those places," Artie chimes in.

"That's true… the van might be stolen or registered under someone else's name," Brittany adds.

"We've already checked stolen vehicle reports in the surrounding areas and none match," Holly speaks up.

"Okay then, what about the surveillance footage?" Schue asks.

"I'm glad you asked, William…" Fabray says cheerfully. "There's a bank near the East entrance of the park that captured a van traveling at a high rate of speed at approximately 0634 hours."

"That's great, Q! Were you able to get a tag?" Hudson asks, impatiently.

"Unfortunately, no… the angle of the camera didn't allow for that," the tech analyst states. "However, I was able to get a partial image on the driver of the vehicle."

As Quinn pulls up the blurry picture of the driver, something catches Santana's eye.

"Q… can you clean up that image anymore?" The Latina questions.

"I can try… give me a sec," Quinn replies as she begins to work her magic.

"What do you see?" Brittany asks curiously. "The driver's face is covered by his hat."

"Exactly!" Santana exclaims.

"Okay… this is the best I can do," Fabray responds as a more cleaned up version of the photo appears on screen, clearly displaying a Spartan logo.

"That's what I was counting on," Santana says as she points to the photo. "The bartender at _Scandals_ told me that Blaine was there last night, talking to one of the regulars… a guy named _Dave_ that wears a hat that looks just like that!"

"Finally… just the break we needed!" Det. Holliday states excitedly.

"Fabray… go back through the staff records and see if there are any employees or students named Dave," Schue says sternly.

"Already on it sir," Quinn quickly replies. "Santana… did the bartender give you anything else?"

"Besides her phone number…" Puck snickers. In return, his partner gives him a look that says "_seriously dude?"_

"Really… way to go Lopez!" Finn says as he raises his hand, waiting for a high-five in return from the Latina.

"Please put your hand down, Lurch…" Santana replies, looking totally unimpressed. Finn does as he's told, but not before he reaches up his other hand to give himself a high-five. Santana just shakes her head in response. "I'm _pretty_ sure that we have much more important things at hand."

"Yeah… San's right," the liaison quickly adds in, her voice showing no emotion. This interests Puck while everyone else appears to be a little oblivious to Brittany's current lack-luster tone.

"Anyways… the bartender said that Dave usually keeps to himself, but she does remember seeing him talking to each of the vics at some point in time."

"Sounds like we should bring this _bartender_ in for further questioning," Brittany says in a snide manner. This time, Santana picks up on her change in demeanor.

"Only if necessary," Schue states firmly. "Where are we on that list, Quinn?"

"Okay… there are no employees at the bar with that name," Fabray begins. "However, at the school… there are 21 students and 8 employees with the name of _Dave_ or _David._"

"Out of those 29 names, do any of them match the physical description we've gotten from our witnesses?" Dr. Abrams inquisitively asks.

"Let's see…" Quinn mumbles out as she rapidly types away on her keyboard. "I have 6 that match."

"Hmm… that's better, but I think we can still narrow that down," Schue states.

"I'm still working on it, sir."

"Hey, Q… can you see if any of those 6 matches have any ties to McKinley High School?" Santana questions.

"Sure… anything in particular I'm looking for?"

"Not sure yet… just call it a hunch," the Latina answers.

"It's funny that you mention McKinley…" Artie starts off. "Mr. Hummel mentioned that Kurt went to McKinley during his Freshman year, but transferred shortly after due to bullying. According to him, Kurt was the only openly gay student."

"Did Kurt ever identify his bully?" Santana ponders, feeling more invested in this case than ever.

"Unfortunately, no… the only thing he ever told his father was that it was an upperclassman; maybe a jock?" Abrams replies.

"And… this is why you guys love me!" Fabray suddenly states, breaking into the discussion. "David Karofsky… 21 year old white male who works as the maintenance man at Dalton Academy. He graduated from McKinley in 2011."

"He would've been a Senior when Kurt was there. Maybe they knew each other?" Puck adds in. "Hell… he might've been Kurt's bully!"

"21 seems kind of young to already be in a job like that," Artie says, talking more to himself. "Quinn… does it say anything about higher education in his file?"

"Why yes, my young genius… there is," the analyst replies. "Apparently, Karofsky got a football scholarship to Ohio State. However, in his Sophomore year, he blew out his knee and had to sit for the rest of the season. Because he was benched, he lost his scholarship."

"Damn… that's rough," Finn states. "So, let me guess… after he lost his scholarship, he couldn't afford to pay for college and dropped out. That probably led to him moving back in with his parents, which forced him to find a job to make ends meet."

"Give that boy a gold star!" Fabray exclaims. "Yes… shortly after Karofsky left school, he got the job at Dalton."

"That would explain how he knew each of the victims," Santana chimes it. "Maybe seeing them at the bar presented a less awkward environment for Karofsky to talk to them."

"It's possible," Schue agrees. "What else do we know about him?"

"Both of Karofsky's parents are deceased. His mother died about 10 years ago due to a brain aneurysm, and his father…" Quinn trails off as she re-reads over the information she just discovered. "His father died a little over 2 months ago… lung cancer."

"2 months ago… that's when the first when the first murder happened," Santana states. "That must've been his trigger."

"Yeah… apparently he and his dad were very close," Fabray adds in. "And if that wasn't convincing enough, there's a 1998 Ford Econoline Van, black in color, registered to his father, Scott Karofsky."

"We got 'em!" Puck exclaims.

"Karofsky's last known address is listed as 1247 Fenway Drive in Lima," Quinn says. "I'm sending the address to your phones now.

"Det. Holliday, inform your guys that we have a lead on the suspect," Schue states firmly. "My team will take the house while your guys cover Dalton and McKinley, just in case he decides to go back there."

"Will do," Holly replies as she quickly makes her way out of the room to spread the word.

"Alright guys… get your gear. We leave in 5."

* * *

As the team rushes out of the room, Santana runs to catch up with a speeding Brittany.

"Hey… where's the fire?" The Latina playfully jokes. Once she's met with stone-cold silence, she begins to worry. "Britt, what's going on?"

"Nothing… I'm just ready to catch this fucker and go home," the liaison coldly replies.

"Did I do something to piss you off?" The profiler questions. Again, she is met with silence from the blonde. Unsure of where this behavior is coming from, Santana thinks about what happened in the past 15 minutes or so that could've caused this type of response from her usually upbeat best friend. And then, it hits her. "Is this about the bartender?"

"_Bartender_… sounds more like a slut to me," Brittany scoffs, rolling her eyes in the process.

"Britt… what has gotten into you?" Santana questions, surprised to hear the catty remark.

"It's just…" the blonde pauses, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Were you even gonna tell me about the number?"

"Actually, I was…" the Latina sincerely states, although she can tell that Brittany doesn't believe her. "I was gonna wait for a more _appropriate_ time though… not in the middle of de-briefing."

Brittany then wraps her arms tightly around herself. "Was she cute?"

"Do you really wanna know?" Santana counters, unsure of where the blonde is going with this conversation. Once she sees Brittany shrug her shoulders, she decides to answer. "She was attractive, yes."

"Why'd she give you her number," Brittany cautiously asks, lowering her head.

"I guess she thought that I was interested in her."

"And why would she think that?"

"I don't know… maybe because I tried flirting with her at first to see if she would be more open," Santana replies. "Once she saw passed my ploy though, I basically told her that I would charge her with Obstruction if she didn't cooperate."

"How did she take that news?"

"Not great… but it worked," Santana says with a small smile. "She wants me to call her after we're done with the case so that we can have a little "fun", I guess."

"_Oh_…" Brittany says deflated, still refusing to look up at the Latina. "So… are you gonna call her?"

"No," Santana simply states. This causes the blonde to finally look at her. "She actually walked away before I had the chance to tell her that I wasn't interested."

"You're not?" Brittany carefully questions.

"Nope…" the Latina responds as she retrieves the folded up napkin from her pocket. Santana then proceeds to tear the napkin into four parts before disposing it in the nearby trash receptacle. "Like I've told you before… the only person I'm interested in is _you_."

Brittany doesn't know how to take Santana's statement or how to look away from her penetrating stare. No matter how many times the Latina has told her this before or made a similar remark, Brittany still finds it hard to believe that this amazing woman is basically putting herself on hold while the blonde figures out whether or not she wants to pursue a deeper relationship or not.

"I still don't get it; hell… I may _never_ get it," Brittany says, finally loosening up her tense grip. "You could do so much better."

"Britt… have I ever lied to you before?" Santana asks.

"You mean besides keeping your feelings for me a secret for the past few years… no," the blonde jokingly replies. Santana smiles back.

"Then just believe me when I say… you're worth the wait."

Brittany wants to believe Santana so badly, but there's still a part of her insecure nature that prevents her from doing so.

"Hey guys, we're heading out," Finn says as he passes by the girls.

"To be continued…" Santana says. The blonde replies back with a 'yeah' before they both follow a few steps behind the freakishly tall agent.

"I thought we were supposed to be solely focusing on the case until we got back home," Brittany states as they make their way outside.

"We were… but then you had to go and be all cute and jealous over some _bartender_…" Santana playfully retorts. "No, wait… I believe _slut_ is the word you used."

"Shut up!" Brittany chuckles out as she slaps the Latina's arm. "I was _not_ jealous!"

"If you say so, Pierce…"

Brittany doesn't respond because she knows Santana was right. She was absolutely jealous ever since Puck mentioned the bartender giving her best friend her number. It was an odd feeling that she's never quite experienced before, but for this brief encounter… she definitely did not like it. Although Santana was free to flirt with and/or date whoever she wanted to, Brittany was hoping that once they had their talk when they returned home, things would be a lot clearer for her and she could finally make a decision in regards to the next step in their relationship.

"You suck!" Brittany says, trying her best to deflect as she enters the SUV and puts on her body armor. Santana doesn't say anything in return. Instead, she just smiles, happy to know that the blonde was a little jealous over another woman hitting on her.

_Maybe there's hope for __**us**__ after all_, Santana thinks to herself. _Maybe…_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Hello to all of you awesome readers. Hope you enjoyed this installment and the playful ending. I'm currently working on the next chapter, which will be a pivotal turning point in the story. Stay tuned. As always… thanks for all of the reads, reviews, follows, and favorites. You guys are amazing!

-Kris


	10. Risking it All

"_There is danger in reckless change, but greater danger in blind conservatism." – Henry George_

* * *

_**The following day…**_

After the team raided Karofsky's house, they found no signs of him on the property. However, they did find the van that he had been using to transport the victims to the dump sites in. The van reeked of bleach and had bundles of high quality plastic located inside of it. The van was then turned over to CSU for further processing. Karofsky's laptop was also recovered on scene and a copy of the hard drive was sent to Fabray. If anything, hopefully she would be able to uncover some type of clue to the fugitive's current whereabouts.

"_Where are you, Dave?_" Santana says aloud to herself.

After the search of Karofsky's house – _and the search of the schools_ – did not produce the results that the team was hoping for, the agents decided to call it a night and start fresh in the morning. For the Latina, however, that was a task that was easier said than done. Santana couldn't sleep… not until David Karofsky was either dead or in custody. Not knowing whether or not there was another innocent boy on his hit list nearly drove her insane.

"_Why are you doing this? What did these kids do to you?_" The profiler questioned, still mumbling to herself.

Santana had been at it for hours, going over every single detail of Karofsky's and the victims' files, trying to find an answer that just wasn't there. But… she was determined.

Instead of trying to reason with the Latina, which would've been pointless, the team left her alone in one of the interviewing rooms where she could dig through all of the files in peace. Little did she know, she had a single audience member watching her every move.

"She's still going at it, huh?" Puck says as he walks up to Brittany, who had been standing outside of the room for several minutes.

"Yep… I wanna go in there in help her, but I don't want to get in her way," the blonde replies.

"Yeah… that's probably for the best."

As Puckerman turns to walk away, the liaison grabs his attention again. "Hey Noah… could I talk to you for a sec?"

"Sure… what's on your mind, Britt?"

"What's with that stunt you tried to pull yesterday?" Brittany questions.

"Could you be a little more specific?" Puck says back, playing dumb. He knew exactly what the blonde was talking about and was very curious to hear what she had to say on the matter.

"You know… the whole _bartender giving San her number_ thing?"

"Oh, that… what about it?" Noah replies nonchalantly.

"You don't think that it was a little inappropriate to bring that up while we're trying to catch this nut bag?" Brittany responds. "I mean, seriously… did it help our case at all besides wasting time talking about it."

"It didn't waste any more time than we are right now, _still_ talking about it," Noah retorts in a smart ass tone. This does not sit well with the blonde. "Why do you care so much, huh? Were you _jealous_ or something?"

Brittany starts to feel her blood boiling. "Have I done something to you cuz you're being a real douche right now," the liaison says back, completely ignoring the question.

"And you're deflecting," Puck states knowingly. "Just answer the question, Britt."

Brittany takes a second to read the profiler's facial expression, trying to figure out what his angle is, knowing that there must be a reason why one of her closest friends is giving her such a hard time. Finally, she concedes. "Yes… I was jealous. Happy now?"

"A little… that's what I was hoping for," Noah casually responds.

"I don't get it."

"Look, Britt…" Puck starts to say as he leads the blonde to an empty room so that they can have more privacy. "I'm sorry for giving you a hard time, but I needed to know if you were serious about this thing with Santana."

"How does my relationship with Santana concern you?" Brittany challenges.

"Because… Santana is like my sister; if you hurt her, then you and I are gonna have some problems," Noah states in a more serious tone.

"What makes you think that I would _ever_ hurt her?" Brittany questions, feeling slightly befuddled by the direction this conversation is taking.

"Just hear me out, okay?" Puck asks. Once he receives a reluctant nod from the blonde, he continues. "I've known for years how crazy Santana is about you. In fact, I was really surprised that she even told you. As much as Quinn and I are rooting for you guys to be together, I know that it's not a guarantee. And if that's the case… I just wanna make sure that Santana will be okay."

"I'm still not following."

"If you have no intention of pursuing a relationship with Santana, then let her know now," Noah says bluntly. "Santana will wait for you; even if it slowly starts to kill her inside… she'll wait just to have a chance with you. So I'm asking… please don't string her along and give her hope that something _will_ eventually happen when _you_ know that it won't."

"Is that what you think I've been doing?" Brittany replies, feeling somewhat offended. "Is that what _she_ thinks?"

"I don't know, Brittany… that's why I'm voicing my concerns now," Puck states. "I know that you guys have always had a flirty relationship, but this is for real now. I know that there are reasons and possible concerns that might be holding you back, but the clock is ticking."

"We're supposed to talk when we get back home," Brittany quietly says, taking in everything that the profiler has just told her.

"That's good… but if you're still feeling confused, ask yourself one question…" Noah states. "You don't have to tell me your answer, but… do _you_ want Santana?" He pauses. "Because… _she_ wants _you_. Just think about it."

And with that, Noah exits the room, hoping that his "protective older brother" speech helps the liaison to finally make a decision.

Brittany continues to sit in the room for a few minutes, mulling over everything. Santana said that she would give her time so the blonde never thought that she might be inadvertently hurting the Latina by still not having an answer. Santana never showed any signs to suggest otherwise, but then again, she was always the best at compartmentalizing things. That's the only logical way Brittany can explain how she never picked up on her best friend's deeper feelings for her after all these years. _She won't have to wait much longer_, the blonde thinks to herself.

After Brittany finally calms down and is able to get her focus back on the case, she goes to the break room area and makes two cups of coffee. She then finds herself outside of the room where Santana is, still rustling through papers, trying her best to find something concrete that will give her team a lead. Quietly, Brittany slips into the room and sets down the cup of coffee.

"I didn't want to disturb you, but I thought you might need this," Brittany says as the Latina picks up the cup and takes a big gulp. Santana then closes her eyes as the hot liquid travels down her throat. She releases a sigh of content as the blonde watches on. "I guess I should leave you two alone."

The sound of Brittany's voice snaps Santana out of her momentary high of caffeinated bliss. Once she opens her eyes, they immediately lock onto the sparkling blue ones staring back at her. "Sorry… you know how I feel about my caffeine," she chuckles out. Brittany laughs along. "Thanks for this, by the way."

"No problem."

"Why don't you take a seat," Santana suggests. The blonde happily accepts, sitting down next to the Latina. "I know there's gotta be something in here."

"What are you thinking?" Brittany questions. "Let's talk it out."

"I'm trying to get inside this guy's head," the profiler responds. "I know that Lima doesn't have a huge gay population, but… he could've picked anyone from that bar. Why did he specifically pick these 4 guys? Guys that all knew each… guys that all went to the same school… guys that could've easily identified him if they had escaped. There's something we're missing here."

"What about what you were saying earlier about the first victim," the liaison begins. "He's the only one that was dumped outside of the 5 mile parameter; that must've been for a reason."

"I agree… that's why I've been trying to find a link," Santana replies. "Did they ever find a match to where Hummel was drowned at?"

"Hold on… let me check," Brittany says as she flips through multiple pages of the crime scene analysis. "Here it is…" she says while pointing at the document, "it says the diatoms found in Hummel's system match the sample CSU took from Lake Cody. That kind of makes sense since his body was found not too far from there at the Cairo Recreational Department."

"Yeah… but there's gotta be more to it than that," the Latina adds in. "Lake Cody… it means something to Karofsky. But what?"

As Santana racks her brain, she starts going through all of the photographs that were taken at Karofsky's house. It's at this point that she comes across a picture of a younger David and his parents, standing in front of a house with a lake behind it.

"This house… where is it?" Santana thinks out loud while pointing at the picture. "Britt… get Q on the phone."

Brittany does as she's told and within a few seconds, the tech analyst is on the other line. "Hey Quinn… you're on speaker with me and San."

"Ooh… how are my 2 favorite ladies doing?"

"We'd be a lot better if we caught this fucker already," Santana charmingly replies. Brittany giggles in the background. "Anyways… can you check through the property records and see if the Karofsky's owned any other land, specifically near Lake Cody?"

"Sure thing, hon… just give me a minute," Quinn replies as she works her magic. After a short wait, the other blonde informs them that she's got goose egg.

"Damn… I thought for sure that was gonna be a good lead," Brittany says, feeling deflated.

"Yeah… me too," Santana replies back. As she studies the picture more closely, another idea pops into her head. "Q… can you check if there's any property listed under David's mother's maiden name…" she inquires as she searches through the files once more, "… Dana Campbell?"

"Let me run that real quick," Fabray responds. "You, my love, are a genius!"

"What… did you find something?" Brittany excitedly asks.

"I sure did! Karofsky's mother owned a house off of Ottawa Road, which boarders Lake Cody," Quinn happily replies.

"That's it! He's gotta be there…" Santana says as she gets up from the table, ready to take off to tell the rest of the team. "Thanks Q!"

"Santana, wait!" The tech analyst yells out, hoping to catch the Latina before the line disconnected.

"What is it?"

"I just got done with my analyst of Karofsky's computer," Quinn begins. "This kid had a lot of self-hate. His browser history shows multiple websites and searches on how to "de-gay" yourself."

"So, Santana was right… Karofsky is a gay man who is trapped in the closest," Brittany states. "His father's death must've sent him over the edge.

"We need to update the team now," the profiler speaks up. "Circumstances have changed…"

"I've sent the address to all of your phones. Please be careful," Fabray says as she hangs up.

Brittany and Santana then exit the interviewing room and re-join the rest of their team and Detective Holliday.

"Alright guys, listen up…" Santana says loudly, gaining everyone's attention. "We have lead on Karofsky's location."

"His mother owned a house off of Lake Cody, where the first victim was killed," Brittany picks up.

"Okay troops, what are we waiting for?" Holly states rhetorically while she attempts to rally up her officers.

"Hold on just a second, Holly," the liaison interrupts. "In light of new evidence, we should all take extra precaution on this subject."

"Karofsky is a very troubled gay man who's probably suppressed this feeling since he was a teenager," the Latina explains. "Being a star athlete and probably having super religious parents made him bottle all of these feelings up inside and they continued to fester until his father's death. Then… he snapped," she continues. "He should be considered armed and dangerous. More than likely… this will end 1 of 2 ways: he will either kill himself – if he hasn't done so already – or… he'll get one of you to do his dirty work for him."

"What do you mean," an officer amongst the crowd questions.

"It's called suicide by cop," Schue replies.

"Essentially, it's a method in which an individual with suicidal tendencies deliberately acts in a threatening way in hopes of provoking a lethal response from law enforcement."

"So, basically…"

"It's a coward's way out," Puck responds coldly.

"I agree…" Santana steps in before her partner can say anything further. "That's why we all have to be on our A game today."

"So, what… are we just supposed to wait to let him attack us first before we can do anything?" Another officer snidely asks.

Before Santana has a chance to respond, Brittany steps in. "That's not what she's saying, _Officer_…" the blonde says, emphasizing the man's rank. "If there is a threat, then you utilize the most practical option to neutralize it and to make sure that you go home to your family at the end of the day."

Santana looks over at Brittany, impressed on how the liaison not only stuck up for her, but also handled herself quite nicely towards an arrogant prick.

"We want Karofsky alive," Santana says sternly, addressing the group. "But make no mistake… I will not hesitate to put a bullet in his brain, if it comes down to that."

"Alright everyone… let's go!" Detective Holliday exclaims.

* * *

Once the team arrives at the lake house, they split up and surround the property. However, before everyone is able to get into position, a loud ruckus is heard from the back side of the house.

As Agent Puckerman rounds the corner, he sees a man in a flannel shirt and jeans running out of the back door towards the lake.

"Karofsky, stop where you are... FBI!" Puck yells out as the man gets further away. "He's running towards the lake," he says into his radio as he continues his pursuit.

"Let's get a few uniforms to check the house to make sure there aren't any more victims in there," Schue says as he makes his way towards the lake as well. "Everyone else, get to the lake and set up a perimeter."

Once Karofsky gets to the end of the dock, he realizes that there is nowhere left for him to run. As he looks out onto the lake, he feels his body start to shiver.

"Karofsky... look around man," Noah says once he catches up to him, maintaining a safe distance while aiming his Glock at his back. "Let's just stop this before you try and do something stupid."

"Listen to him, man... there's nowhere else to go," Hudson states as he and the rest of the team surround the suspect. "Let's just end this now."

Karofsky still has his back facing away from the multiple agents and officers with their weapons trained on him. Suddenly, he brandishes his own gun and holds the barrel against his temple.

"Don't come any closer!" Karofsky yells out, his hand shaking as he presses the barrel of the gun more firmly against his head. "I swear to God I'll kill myself!"

"Whoa, whoa... let's just calm down for a second," Santana says as she steps closer to unstable man. "Everybody stand down," she orders, but once she sees that no one has made any movement to back up, she repeats herself with more authority in her voice. "I said stand down!"

This time, all of her fellow agents and officers take a few steps back, giving her and the suspect some space. Santana then takes a few tentative steps towards Karofsky until she appears in his line of view.

"Dave… can I call you Dave?" Santana questions, but doesn't receive a response. "Can you look at me for a second?" The Latina softly asks, not wanting to alarm the man. Karofsky slightly turns his head until he can see the woman's profile. "My name's Santana... do you mind if I talk to you for a minute?"

"There's nothing to talk about... I know how this is gonna end," Dave replies.

"Okay then… if you don't wanna talk, maybe you could just listen?" Santana suggests. Once she sees the man shrug his shoulders, she continues. "I'm not gonna stand here and pretend like I know your life or any of the hardships you've been through. However, I think I can relate to at least one aspect of your life."

"What are you talking about?" Karofsky questions.

"I know what it's like, being a gay kid in a small town… it sucks," Santana starts off, trying to appeal to the man.

"Bullshit," Dave replies, not believing one word the agent is saying.

"No bullshit here… it actually made headline news several years ago," the profiler explains. "My mother is Maribel Lopez. She's a U.S. Ambassador."

Karofsky loosens his grip on his gun and slightly lowers it. "I remember that story. It was all over the news when I was in middle school."

"I was so terrified when I first realized that I was gay," Santana continues. "At the time, I was just a teenager and my mom and I were living oversees in a country that shunned homosexuals. I was so afraid what would happen if someone found out."

As Dave listens to Santana's story, he begins to feel a little more comfortable. Brittany, on the other hand is intrigued to hear more personal details about the Latina's life before she met her. She's also a little bit scared that the Karofsky subject could snap at any moment and hurt her best friend.

"Not saying that this happened to you, but I can only imagine being a star athlete on the football team my senior year of high school; you must've felt like you were on top of the world, especially with colleges looking at you," Santana picks back up, trying to read any facial expressions Karofsky might offer. "But then… Kurt, this out and proud freshman, comes along and maybe stirs the pot? Maybe he could sense that deep dark secret you've been trying so hard to hide over the years?

Santana studies Karofsky's face, watching as his jaw clenches from her previous statement and how he tightened his grip on the gun again. This is all the proof she needs to know that she was definitely on the right track.

"You wish you could've been that open and free, but you just couldn't. You couldn't let him destroy all of the walls you built up to protect yourself? What would the guys on the team think? Or worse… your Dad?" Santana poses, really starting to crack the barrier that the former football player had up. "And so… you bullied Kurt. You bullied him until he couldn't take it anymore and transferred schools."

After a long pause, Karofsky finally speaks again. "I'm not proud of how I treated Kurt back then. He didn't deserve that."

"_I think it's working_," Puck whispers to his team. "_He's opening up._"

"I know you didn't… you just didn't know what else to do at the time," the Latina says sympathetically. "After Kurt was gone, you went on with your life. But, once you hit college, you probably found yourself in the same predicament; having to hide who you truly are to appease others."

"I didn't want the guys on the team to treat me differently," Dave softly says. "I just wanted to play football and maybe once I was more comfortable about my sexuality, maybe I could've met someone."

"But then you got hurt and winded up at Dalton," Santana fills in the blanks. "That's where you ran into Kurt again."

"I ran into him on my first day. He seemed really surprised to see me, but didn't say anything," Dave continues. "I didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable so I just kept my distance. It wasn't until the beginning of this year that I actually built up the courage to speak to him and apologize for my poor behavior back then."

"How did that go… if you don't mind me asking?"

"H-he…" Karofsky struggles to get out. "He f-forgave me. We actually became friends after that."

"That must've been nice, finally having someone to talk to."

"It was…" Dave says solemnly. Santana feels that there's more that the man wants to say, but she doesn't want to push her luck. "Blaine didn't deserve him."

"Why do you say that? Is it because he cheated on him?" Santana questions.

"That's part of it…" Karofsky replies. "Honestly, I don't think he ever really took the time to see how amazing Kurt really was, especially if he let an asshole like Sebastian make him stray. Everyone at that school knows that he's the biggest whore. He didn't even like Blaine like that… he just wanted to see if he could get into his pants. It was just a big fucking game to him."

"You seem to know a lot about the students personal lives," the Latina comments.

"Well… when you spend 40 hours a week traveling up and down those hallways, you're bound to hear some gossip," Dave informs. "I just hate that Kurt got caught in the middle of it."

Taking into account everything that Karofsky has been so candid about and all of the victims and their relationship to each other, everything suddenly becomes clear to Santana.

_Dave was in love with Kurt_.

"He was so humiliated and heart broken when Sebastian told him that he had been with his boyfriend," Dave continues. "He blamed himself for Blaine's infidelity, like it was his fault that his former boyfriend was a douche."

As Santana continues to listen, she notices how unsteady Dave's hand had become and was afraid that the anger building up inside of him might cause him to do something rash.

"I get it… that's why you killed them," Santana cautiously states. "They didn't deserve to be free to walk around, especially not after what they put Kurt through."

"You're damn right!"

"But… what about Elliott? How does he fit into all of this?" The profiler ponders.

"I didn't like the way he looked at Kurt, especially after he broke up with Blaine," Dave explains. "He was supposed to be his teacher – _someone in a position of authority_ – yet I saw the lingering looks he gave Kurt.

Santana can feel the finish line in sight, but she knows that she has to be extremely careful with how she asks her next question.

"Dave… _David_, look at me," Santana politely asks. The man hesitates at first, but then obliges. "You loved Kurt, didn't you? That's why you did all of this."

Karofsky's eyes then begin to water, although he still has the gun pointed at his head. He reluctantly nods his head, confirming the profiler's suspicions.

"So… what happened here Dave?"

Dave doesn't answer at first. Instead, he covers his face with his left hand as he starts to tap the barrel of the gun against his head with his right hand. "I d-didn't mean to h-hurt him…" Karofsky says as he begins openly sobbing. "It was an accident."

"Tell me about it."

After Dave spends a few minutes releasing all of the emotions that he's been locking up inside of his body for so long, his breathing finally regulates and his tears have stopped falling.

"After my dad died, I was at the bar one night, getting pretty wasted," Dave starts out, mumbling his words. "Kurt saw me there and knew that I was too drunk to drive, so he offered to take me home. But I didn't want to go home. Instead, I asked him to bring me here."

"What happened next?"

"Kurt didn't want to leave me by myself, so he offered to stay with me and… I don't know; I guess I had some liquid courage because the next thing I know, I kissed him," Karofsky says as he re-lives that magical moment. "I thought that he would push me off, but he didn't. He kissed me back and then… we ended up having sex."

"How did that make you feel?"

"It was amazing while it was happening… but the next morning, I kinda freaked out," Dave continues. "I just kept thinking about how disappointed my father would be if he knew that his only son was a queer. And then I started thinking about my old teammates and what they would say… I couldn't handle it."

"What did you do, Dave?" Santana pushes. She feels for the man because if he didn't hate himself so much, maybe none of this would've happened.

"I came out here to think. And then… I felt someone touch my shoulder; that's when I lost it," Karofsky barely gets out as his whole body starts to shake. "That one touch ignited all of the hate that I've been fighting inside. I tackled Kurt into the water and held his head down until he stopped moving."

Karofsky then begins to hyperventilate, gasping for air, but never releasing the gun in his hand.

"Dave… I need you to calm down and take some deep breaths," Santana instructs, hoping that her demeanor would keep the man going off the deep end. "Just put the gun down so that we can get you the help that you need."

"N-no one can h-help me," Dave says in between jagged breaths. "Like I said before… I know how this ends."

"Oh yeah... how's that?" Santana asks, challenging him.

"I'm either gonna leave here in a body bag or with silver bracelets..." Karofsky states knowingly, "and let's just say... I don't think I'll fare too well in prison."

"But at least you'll be alive..." Santana argues, trying to reason with the man.

"Alive for what?! To live with my guilt? To have the constant reminder of what I did and how I hurt the person I love the most?!" Dave snaps as he points the gun at Santana. This immediately draws the attention of all of the law enforcement personnel behind her. "I'd rather be dead... at least I won't have to feel this pain anymore."

"Lopez… you've done all that you can," Puck yells out, trying to gain her attention. "I think it's time to let this one go."

"_You don't have to do this,_" Santana softly says to Dave, ignoring her partner. She then holds up her right hand towards her team, signaling them to stop from shooting the man currently pointing a gun at her chest. "Dave... you might be in a lot of pain, but I don't think you wanna die."

"Don't tell me how I fucking feel!" Karofsky shouts back as he shakily aims his gun higher on the Latina.

"I'm not trying to tell you how you feel; I just think that if you really wanted to be dead right now... you would be," the profiler replies back, trying her best to keep how frightened she is inside a secret. "Once my team arrived in town, you had to know that it was only a matter of time before you got caught. You could've easily offed yourself already, but you didn't. Instead, you waited for us to find you."

Santana pauses to see if the man wanted to interject. When she's met with nothing but silence and heaving breathing, she continues, but not before she slowly lowers her weapon and holsters it. She then proceeds to put her hands up.

"_What the hell is she doing?!_" Brittany says out loud, wondering what must be going through the Latina's mind right now.

"And now... you're pointing a gun at an _unarmed_ Federal Agent, hoping that my guys will do your dirty work for you," Santana says boldly as she takes a step towards Dave. "Honestly, the only thing that's keeping my buddies back there from putting a bullet in your brain is me."

Upon hearing the Latina's words, Karofsky uses his peripheral vision to quickly scan his surroundings. Seeing the 15 or so guns all pointed at him from every possible angle imaginable, his hand begins to tremble even more.

"Tell your men to back off!" Karofsky demands. "I'll shoot her!" The man yells towards the other officers.

"_Dave_… if you really wanted to hurt me, you would've done it already," Santana says as she takes another step towards the unstable man.

"Don't come any closer," Dave chokes out as his eyes begin to water again. Slowly, his will is breaking down.

"It's your call, Dave… how do you want to proceed?" Santana inquires, taking yet another step until she is only a few feet away from him. "You wanna put the gun down and finally own up to what you did? Or... do you want to be a _coward_ and force my guys to light you up like the 4th of July?"

Karofsky takes an aggressive step forward, pointing his gun directly against Santana's vest. The more his hand shakes, the more anxious the Latina becomes. Dave then looks directly into Santana's eyes.

"_You don't have to do this, Dave_…" the profiler whispers out.

As the tears are now streaming down his face, Dave slowly lowers his gun just enough for Santana to take it. Once she has the gun in her possession, she signals the rest of her team to move in. Within the blink of an eye, Puck appears behind Karofsky and handcuffs him without further incident. As Noah searches his person, Dave looks back at Santana.

"_I didn't mean to hurt him_…" Dave sobs out.

Santana takes a step forward and places a comforting hand on the man's shoulder. "I know you didn't, Dave… I know you didn't."

As those last words leave her mouth, Karofsky is escorted away from the lake where it all began.

* * *

Later on that evening, the team arrives back in Virginia. The plane ride had been mostly silent with everyone just trying to sort through the very unorthodox, yet emotional capture of David Karofsky.

"Everyone… that was impeccable work you did out there. Go home and get some rest… you can finish up your reports tomorrow," Schue says as the team walks towards their respective vehicles. "Santana… that was a hell of a risk you took today. _Puh-lease_ don't ever scare me like that again."

"Yes, sir…" Santana responds as she shoots her boss a grateful smile. "Goodnight Will."

"You almost gave me a freaking heart attack today," Noah adds in, sharing the same sentiment as their leader. "I mean, literally… I almost peed my pants."

"I'm sorry I scared you… I just went with my gut feeling," the Latina sincerely states.

"I know… I'm familiar with your craziness," Puck replies with a smile. "I think you might owe an apology to someone else though," he says as he subtly nods his head over to where Brittany is leaning up against her blue Volkswagen Tiguan.

"How pissed is she?" Santana inquires, trying to prepare herself for her best friend's wrath.

"Well… I'll put it to you like this," Noah starts to say, "she didn't say a word on the plane."

"_Shit_…"

"Shit is right… good luck Lopez," Puck says as he turns to walk away. "See ya in the AM."

With everyone now gone, Santana slowly makes her way over to the awaiting blonde who's vehicle just so happens to be parked next to the Latina's.

"_Hey Britt_…" Santana carefully speaks, trying to feel the other woman out.

Brittany doesn't respond at first. She just continues to rub her temples with her fingers. The blonde is so angry and frustrated with the profiler that she doesn't know where to begin.

"What in _the_ hell were you thinking?" Brittany says very slowly.

"Look, Britt… I know that you and the other guys were probably really worried about me, but I'm fine; everything worked out okay," Santana offers.

"Everything worked out okay?" The blonde slowly repeats the Latina's previous statement. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"_Whoa_… why are you so upset?"

"That guy could've killed you!" Brittany yells back, slightly scaring Santana. "How can you act so casual when that lunatic had a gun pointed at your chest not even 3 hours ago.

"I can't really explain it, but I knew that he wasn't going to hurt me," Santana tries to explain.

"Do you even hear yourself right now?" Brittany says incredulously. "You might be able to relate to the guy and empathize with him on some levels, but you do _not_ know him and what else he might be capable of. And… he is certainly not worth putting your own life in danger to possibly save his."

"That guy belongs in prison so that he can pay for what he did and get the treatment that he desperately needs," the profiler retorts, feeling herself starting to get a little agitated. "Putting multiple bullets in him and burying him 6 feet under wasn't gonna accomplish that."

"Well… if you ask the families of the 4 men he killed, they might feel a little differently," the liaison shoots back, not backing down. "Why are you defending this guy?"

"Because!" Santana shouts back. "That could've very well been me. Maybe I never thought about killing anyone before, but I know what it's like to desperately want to be someone else than who you are. I was able to find a support system and learn how to just love and accept myself. But Dave… he never stood a chance."

"San… look at me," Brittany says in a softer tone while she grabs the Latina's hand to lace with hers. "You are nothing like him. I'll admit… he could use some psychological help, but when he killed Kurt… _he_ made a _choice_. Killing those other 3 boys was just a way to justify what he did to Kurt."

Santana doesn't say anything because she knows that Brittany is right. Deep down, no matter how lost and apologetic the man had seemed, Dave made a choice to take the life of 4 young men. That's just something that he will have to live with for the rest of his life while he sits in prison.

"Santana… you gotta promise me that you won't _ever_ do something like that again. I care about you entirely too much to watch you risk your life for someone who damn sure doesn't deserve it," the blonde says as her eyes begin to water.

"I promise, Brittany… I promise," Santana replies back as she lifts her free hand to wipe away the tears in her best friend's eyes.

"If something ever happened to you, I…" Brittany stops mid-sentence as her emotions begin to take over. "If we're gonna be together, you can't be doing stupid shit like this."

Santana momentarily freezes at the liaison's last set of words. "If we're gonna be _together?_" She slowly repeats, putting heavy emphasis on the word 'together'.

"Uh…" Brittany opens her mouth reply, but quickly closes it once she realizes what she had actually just let slip out.

Brittany thought about back-tracking her previous statement because she hadn't meant for Santana to hear those words just yet. Although they were supposed to finally discuss the future of their relationship once they arrived back at home, the blonde hadn't really gotten the chance to figure out exactly what she wanted to say, especially after her earlier talk with Noah and witnessing the Latina's reckless behavior. However, just looking back at Santana now and feeling the warmth of her hand against her cheek, Brittany finally decides to just stop thinking and do what she's been wanting to do ever since her best friend told her that she was interested in her.

Without another word, Brittany removes the space between them and crashes her lips against Santana's. The force is so great that it pushes the profiler backwards until her back is flush against Brittany's SUV. Santana is so surprised by the sudden action that all she can really do is grab ahold of the blonde's waist and hold on for dear life. The Latina is so caught up in her little world that it takes her brain a minute to comprehend what exactly is happening.

"_Brittany's kissing me_," the Latina thinks to herself. That sentence alone blows her mind as she feels the blonde lightly nibble on her bottom lip. Before things can go any further, Santana reluctantly pulls away, thus breaking their kiss. "_Britt_…" she says breathlessly, "w-what about… what about the rules?"

Brittany takes a split second to think about her answer before replying. "Fuck the rules."

And just like that, Santana and Brittany pick right back up where they left off. The Latina is still unsure of how or why the blonde spontaneously decided to attack her lips, but in the end… she could care less. The only thing that matters to her right now is the fact that the woman she'd never thought she have a chance with is kissing her right now and trying her hardest to slip her tongue into the profiler's mouth. Santana eagerly accepts her silent pleads and opens her mouth. Once their tongues finally meet, both women moan at the sensation. They carry on like this for several more minutes before finally detaching their lips and leaning their foreheads against each other.

"Does this mean that you're not mad at me anymore?" Santana ponders, testing the waters out.

"Oh, no… I'm still plenty mad at you; I just had to get that out of my system," Brittany replies through ragged breaths.

"_Oh_…" the Latina says back, not knowing exactly what the blonde means.

After a short pause, Brittany speaks again. "Come home with me…"

"A-are you sure?" Santana somehow manages to ask after being caught off-guard again.

"Yes… I've never been more sure of anything in my life," Brittany genuinely states.

This causes Santana's heart to flutter. Not wanting to waste another minute, the profiler leans in and places a chaste kiss to Brittany's lips. "I'll meet you there," she says as she detaches herself from the blonde and makes her way to her Audi. Brittany follows suit, hopping into her vehicle and driving off as her best friend follows behind her.

Although Brittany has no idea what to expect once she and Santana get to her house, she knows that she's not afraid to let whatever happen between them.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

FINALLY! I know you guys have all been waiting for some action between the ladies and now you have it! Again, I'm sorry I've been torturing you all with the progression of their relationship, but I think it was necessary and fit much better with the flow of the story in reference to the cases they've been working. I'm also sorry for the cliffhanger. And just so you know, from being a cop in real life... Karofsky would've been killed on the spot as soon as he pointed his gun away from his head and towards Santana. I only wrote it like that for dramatic effect cuz I've seen too many cop shows where they have these long stand-offs to build suspense. On another note, I'll be taking a short break from this story so that I can update _**3**__**rd**__** & Lucky**_. I hope you guys didn't think I abandoned that story… I've just been so enthralled with this particular story that I kinda neglected my other story. Anyways, once I get an update out for _**3**__**rd**_, I'll be working on another one for this story. Thanks again to everyone that has read, reviewed, followed, or has added this story to their favorites list.

As always… stay classy!

-Kris

PS – I'm still looking for someone that can make some artwork covers for my stories. Let me know.

* * *

*****ATTENTION*****

For all of those guests that have made comments about the conversation between Puck and Brittany... _**please**_ calm down. It's clear that the words Puck used have been wildly misinterpreted and has cause some of you readers to be upset and/or angry. Believe me... that was not my intention. When Puck told Brittany that there would be problems between them if she hurt Santana, he was **NOT** threatening her.

_**I repeat... PUCK WAS NOT THREATENING BRITTANY! **_

All that was meant by that comment is that if Brittany intentionally hurt Santana, the relationship between her (Brittany) and Puck would be altered and strained. Everyone on the team is very close to each other, especially Puck and Santana, since they are partners. I don't think it's unreasonable for him to be worried about Santana's well-being and voicing his concerns to Brittany, who is also a close friend of his. Again, Puck was not threatening Brittany in any way, shape, or form. I'm sorry that my message of him just trying to look out for Santana got misconstrued so badly. I don't condone violence against women and would never put it in one of my stories (unless it was one of the bad guys saying it, which Puck is not... in this story, at least).

As always, I appreciate everyone that reads my stories and seeing their feedback. However, please refrain from all of the negativity... especially when you're not reading the characters correctly. If you are unsure about what was meant or have a question about a particular character or scene, then feel free to PM me so that I can explain it to you the way that I was trying to have it perceived. In regards to this chapter, coincidentally enough... everyone that had a problem or made a comment about Puck 'threatening' Brittany is a Guest, whom I can't speak directly to through a PM. I have no problem with anyone expressing their opinion, but please... don't hide behind a Guest account.

At the end of the day, I write these stories so that I can share them with all of you. My stories are meant to be happy, funny, and entertaining... although there is some drama from time to time. All that I ask is that you don't muddle down my hard work and effort with your uninformed negativity.


End file.
